Is not liking a person’s sense of humor grounds for being denied a promotion?
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Is not liking a person’s sense of humor grounds for being denied a promotion?
I work for my state’s department of environmental protection and was denied a promotion. The reason given was, “I understand you’re since of humor but it does not reflect an attitude I would support promoting”. Is this a legitimate reason for denying a promotion?
Asked on November 1, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Actually you can be denied a promotion for this or any reason, even no reason at all. That is unless you have an agreement of some sort to the contrary (e.g. employment or union contract), or this denial violates existing company policy, or your treatment was the result of actionable discrimination. Otherwise, your employer has the right to set the terms and conditions of the workplace as it sees fit. For your part, you can choose to continue to work for this employer, or not. This is called "at will" employment.
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