Do I have a case if I was hired under false pretense and am now being discriminated against?

I have a two-part question: do I have a case if my supervisor recruited me under false pretense and is now discriminating against me as the only black fairly young member of his team?

My supervisor recruited me on the basis of a verbal agreement. He told me that, upon hire, he wants me to assess the department's needs and thereafter I could hire who I want, as many people as I want and that he'd give me an assistant, and the tools and budget I need to do the job. Not only did he not give me an assistant or the tools or budget but he hasn't given me the opportunity to hire who I want and my direct report (who he hired) started a few days before me, which set the tone that she is the head of the department and not me; and he has never clarified the confusion that has become pervasive throughout the office. In addition she had a functioning office since her first day, I did not and my current office is temporary, semi-private and in a high-traffic area. Further, she (a middle-aged white woman) has undermined me (a fairly young black woman) from day one, has repeatedly challenged my authority, and demonstrated that she cannot fulfill the duties in her job description. I've advised my boss of this and he has asked me my age (implying that I'm too young to manage someone older), has repeatedly ignored my concerns about my direct report and has reassigned my direct report to him (a white male) without giving me the opportunity to coach her or hold her accountable; even though he's said he has no expertise in my field (and hired me to advise him of best practices in my field). He has also excluded me from many high-level meetings and decision making processes that involve my department. And accused me of being rigid when I've asked to be the first point of contact for my department but other departments have a clearly defined department head. He always checks what I say with others but does not do the same with them (including my direct report) and always goes with their suggestions/recommendations over mine. And when he moved my direct report, he told me to seek temporary assistance but did not guarantee that I would have permanent full-time support after the temp contract expires in a few months while other departments have recently hired several new full-time, permanent staffers. I have kept copious notes and have documentation to support everything I've said. Do I have a case?

2 answers  |  asked Jan 6, 2015 6:28 PM [EST]  |  applies to Ohio

Answers (2)

Bruce Elfvin
I believe that you may have a claim, and a portion of it may not be discrimination, even though there seems to be a crossover. I would encourage you to see an employment attorney near you. As you question does not identify where in Ohio you are, I would take the time to take to an attorney and put in writing a thorough narrative that would assist in any review of the facts. It is much better to be forarmed than waiting for something else to occur.

posted by Bruce Elfvin  |  Jan 8, 2015 11:56 AM [EST]
David Neel
There's no discrimination case because you have not suffered an adverse employment action. I don't see a case of hostile work environment. There's not enough here to bring a legal claim.

posted by David Neel  |  Jan 7, 2015 6:04 PM [EST]

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