Can I be demoted and then replaced with a new hire that my boss likes better?

I have worked as a manager for a company for 2 years. There are 3 managers (including me) in my department. The company recently went through some restructuring due to growth and additional employees and a 4th Manager was hired. 5 days after the 4th Manager in the dept was hired my boss came to me and said the company decided 4 managers was too many and that I was being demoted. I was essentially replaced with someone my boss likes better. I was told I didn’t possess the skills for the position but also told outright by my boss that the new manager also didn’t possess the skills for the position. The new hire was not required to take the test associated with obtaining the position. The same test all employees in the department are required to take for employment. I have received only position performance review and am often praised for my work. I feel I am being treated unfairly. Other than quitting do I have any options to retain my managerial position? Or am I forced into being humiliated and demoted unfairly in order to keep a job?

1 answer  |  asked Sep 22, 2018 05:03 AM [EST]  |  applies to New York

Answers (1)

V Jonas Urba
Great question!

Favoritism is not illegal. Changing organizational structure is also not illegal. Neither is saving money.

What an employment lawyer does is to explore whether you belong to any protected class of employees. One group is employees older than 40. Another group is anyone with an emotional or physical disability who might require an accommodation or someone who has taken FMLA leave to care for immediate family with serious health conditions or themselves. Or even persons who dont look like what the company wants their employees to look like (i.e. very masculine or very feminine or married or straight, etc...).

When we agree to meet someone in person we have identified what we might believe is really going on and we might charge for that 2 hour consultation. But no need for that if 30 minutes on the phone does not reveal a probable theory of recovery.

These are tough cases. Dont let anyone tell you that they are not. But why have I taken 15 minutes to answer your question? Because you took the time to structure the question in such a way that you sound like you probably do a great job. And when someone takes that kind of time it's the type of person that might be someone able to invest the time to do this correctly. No lawyer can win an employment claim without a client who truly cares, is honest, will work with the lawyer even weekends which every decent employment lawyer works, and has the insight for detail to facts to help the lawyer put the dots together.

It's not illegal to hire your party buddies. It is illegal if all your party buddies are in their 20s and hiring them replaces all the good employees over 40. That's just one example of a protected class of employees. Thanks for taking the time to draft a very well written question. We help people across the state, sometimes representing people I never personally meet. Good luck and call some employment lawyers who limit their practices to these challenging cases.

posted by V Jonas Urba  |  Sep 22, 2018 06:39 AM [EST]

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