Career assassination?
I have worked at financial services company for the past 3 1/2 years. Each year I've been there, I have received the highest rating during the annual evaluation. My work requires that I pass judgement on the work of other teams. Earlier in my tenure, my judgements of one VP's team's work pointed out some shortcomings. Since then, this VP has apparently made it his mission to 'poison the well' against me throughout the entire corporation. People who have never met me have been heard remarking that I am difficult. The evidence they point to has to do with my relationship with this VP. Recently, my manager sent notice to the entire department announcing that I was being made the key contact for my team. The next day, I was told that the other managers are concerned with my elevation because I had a bad attitude. Of the six people who were said to be concerned, five of them were people I had never worked with. They all have close connections with the VP in question. I believe that this man has been busy conducting a whispering campaign against me and is very much trying to torpedo my chances of moving up, and possibly trying to get me terminated. What responsibility does my company have to protect me from baseless character assassination? I am the only minority female in my group. All of the objections come from white males. Do I have any cards at all in a situation like this?
1 answer | asked Sep 14, 2003 4:12 PM [EST] | applies to New York
Answers (1)
Interesting that you bring up race and gender as a last thought. I guess you are hinting at a discrimination argument. However, simply because you are female and a member of a minority group does not, by itself, give you any special rights. I know a lot of think that, but it isn't true.
The key issue is motivation. That is, if you are experiencing difficulties in the workplace, the key issue is what is motivating the person or persons creating the problem. If the motivation is in part your race or gender, or other protected classifications, such as religion or national origin, then you have a type of discrimination that is protected by law.
Notice I said "a type of discrimination." I said it that way because not all forms of discrimination are illegal.
In a general sense, what is happening to you might be described as discrimination, but it isn't necessarily the type of discrimination that is illegal.
Note I said "necessarily." That is because the question of whether there is illegal discrimination going on is a very fact oriented question. I cannot rule out that there may be illegal discrimination happening to you, but I can say that the way you present your situation in your query, there doesn't seem to be illegal discrimination.
This is an important point to make because an employer does have an obligation to protect employees from illegal discrimination, but, if something that might be called discrimination is not illegal, then the employer has no obligation to protect you from it.
Thus, to answer your original question about baseless character assassination, the employer has no responsibility.
posted by David M. Lira | Sep 15, 2003 08:49 AM [EST]
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