I live in Alabama and I work for my local county going on 5 soon to be 6 years. I have a bachelors degree in Business one of few that went to college in my building. Whenever a promotion comes forth you must apply and a list is compiled that ranks the candidates in order of who is best qualified. The list stays active for one year after that everyone has to reapply. For 2+ years I have been at #2 on the list out of 5. 3 promotions have come available back to back. The #1 rank was given a promotion and then everyone below me on the list was given a promotion. Now here is where it gets interesting. On the list I am the 2nd most senior candidate (The #1 had seniority) When my department head put the #1 candidate's name forward it was accepted. When he put my name forth twice and each time a lesser ranked candidate was chosen by his boss (an elected official). I requested a meeting with the official and my department head attended, where I asked very professionally what areas should work on in order to further my career. I was told by the official that she talked to some of my co-workers and they said I don't complete my work and in the same breath switches gears and says i work too fast and make too many mistakes. My department head and myself both proclaimed that we weren't aware of all these "mistakes" attributed to me. The official went on to say I need to take classes to "understand how the building operates" and to take the class the official them self teaches. From there the meeting ended.
Ok, my personnel file has no verbal or written reprimands in regards to my quality of work or my behavior. I have received "High Quality" employee ratings throughout my entire career with only "Excellent" being above and that hasn't been given out in over 20 years. I have already taken the class recommended and I sat in the front row and was called on frequently by the official. I have completely all necessary coursework to become certified in my field. The two candidates who were promoted; The first has been verbally reprimanded on a couple occasions for his behavior. It got so out of hand a departmental meeting was called to address an on-going spat between him and another co-worker he was harassing. The official was in the meeting but the candidate didn't even come to work. The official's behavior was very unprofessional. The accuser was berated by the official because the accuser was also the opponent in the last election in which the official stated. I have an audio tape of the whole fiasco. The second candidate has only taken one class, has only been in the office for slightly 3 yrs over my 5+ and does not know the amount of office function I know. I apologize for the novel. Do I have a solid case for discrimination? Thank you for your time.
Ok, my personnel file has no verbal or written reprimands in regards to my quality of work or my behavior. I have received "High Quality" employee ratings throughout my entire career with only "Excellent" being above and that hasn't been given out in over 20 years. I have already taken the class recommended and I sat in the front row and was called on frequently by the official. I have completely all necessary coursework to become certified in my field. The two candidates who were promoted; The first has been verbally reprimanded on a couple occasions for his behavior. It got so out of hand a departmental meeting was called to address an on-going spat between him and another co-worker he was harassing. The official was in the meeting but the candidate didn't even come to work. The official's behavior was very unprofessional. The accuser was berated by the official because the accuser was also the opponent in the last election in which the official stated. I have an audio tape of the whole fiasco. The second candidate has only taken one class, has only been in the office for slightly 3 yrs over my 5+ and does not know the amount of office function I know. I apologize for the novel. Do I have a solid case for discrimination? Thank you for your time.
