Discrimination for a promotion, possible lawsuit?

I am a California attorney and cannot give legal advice in your state. My comments are information only, based on federal law and general legal principles. YOUR STATE MAY HAVE ITS OWN LAWS THAT OFFER SIMILAR OR GREATER PROTECTION. If I mention your state’s laws, it only means I did a quick Internet search and found something that looked relevant. You MUST check with an attorney licensed in your state to learn your rights. This is a tough situation. Generally, employees and job applicants have very few employment rights, and employers have a lot of leeway in how they choose to run their businesses. In general, an employer can be unfair, obnoxious or bad at management. There are some limitations, mostly in the areas of public policy (such as discrimination law), contract law, union-employer labor relations, and constitutional due process. Please look at my guide to at-will employment which may help you understand your employment rights: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/a-short-summary-of-california-at-will-employment. After you take a look at the guide I linked to above, you may be able to identify actions or behavior that fits one of the categories that allows for legal action. If so, you may wish to speak with an experienced plaintiffs employment attorney.s involved in the dispute can read everything written here. You raise the issue of unlawful discrimination based on national origin and sexual orientation. “Discrimination” does not mean an employer has to be fair, respectful or has to make good decisions. Workplace discrimination means the employer treats one person or group differently from others who are not in the same group, but are similarly situated. The only workplace discrimination that is illegal is discrimination that is against public policy. Public policy refers only to things that are specifically prohibited by a statute (law) enacted by the legislature, or prohibited by a regulation promulgated (established) by a government agency. Under federal law, public policy includes statutes prohibiting discrimination against people in specific protected groups, which include sex, race, national origin, disability, age (40 years and older), religion, marital status, pregnancy and genetic information. Sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination. There is no federal protection for sexual orientation discrimination, but many states provide this protection. Public policy also protects people who blow the whistle on a matter of public concern, complain about improper wage and hour practices, and a few more rights protected by statute. An employer cannot change terms of employment or fire an employee if the reason for the change is against the law (against public policy). For example, an employer cannot increase your workload because of your race, sex, national origin, religion, etc. or because you blew the whistle on safety violations. There are various ways to enforce these rights, depending on the particular public policy involved. For more information on employment discrimination, please see my guide on this subject: http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/what-is-unlawful-employment-discrimination--federal-law?published=true To succeed in a discrimination claim, you will have to show the person who got the job was favored BECAUSE OF his national origin. A claim based on his sexual orientation may not be relevant as there is no federal law that applies to sexual orientation discrimination, so there is no claim for discrimination due to your sexual orientation (which I assume is heterosexual, based on the way you wrote your question). As a practical matter, you will have to prove the other person was NOT hired because the manager liked his personality better, thought he had more potential, appreciated his personal or work background, etc., as well as prove he was hired at least in part because of his national origin. (continued in Comment below)