Employment regulations prohibit discrimination. Businesses generally should not consider the protected characteristics of individuals when hiring workers or making other important staffing decisions.
Employees might believe that once they obtain a position with the company, their risk of discrimination is minimal. However, discrimination can manifest at any point in a career, including when workers seek advancement opportunities. If a company consistently prioritizes one group when promoting internally or if certain workers struggle to secure advancement opportunities, promotion discrimination could be to blame.
Protected characteristics shouldn’t impact opportunities
An employee’s race, sex, age, religion or medical challenges should not influence their ability to move upward within a company. As long as they are capable of performing the job functions, they should receive fair consideration based on their skills, seniority and work history.
Unfortunately, promotion discrimination is common enough that many people are aware of the “glass ceiling.” Frequently, women struggle to move into the highest positions within organizations. Similar discrimination can affect workers from different racial backgrounds, as well as those who belong to religions that differ from the majority of those currently in positions of authority at a company.
Even older workers who have experience and career connections might face discrimination if their employers unfairly give younger workers preferential consideration when filling vacant positions. Employees who have been denied opportunities may have grounds for employment discrimination lawsuits. That’s especially true in scenarios where someone has repeatedly lost out on opportunities to less-qualified people or when a company’s promotion practices clearly benefit a specific group,
Reviewing the company’s practices with an experienced employment law professional can help workers hold employers accountable for unlawful discrimination. If protected characteristics influenced career opportunities, workers can potentially hold their employers accountable for the economic of the company’s promotion discrimination.