Q:
I feel I’m being overlooked for a pay raise/promotion. What are my rights?
A:
A Federal employee does not have a right or guarantee of being promoted. Likewise, management has the right to assign work, which includes the right to select employees for promotion and to fill vacancies. In doing so, management must comply with the Federal merit system principals, and management may not act with the intent to not hire or promote an individual because of his or her race, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, participation in the EEO process, and/or whistleblowing activity.
In the situation you describe, it appears management acted within its rights in determining the promotion criteria. It may seem unfair to you that management is changing the criteria for promotion to your detriment, but so long as management is in compliance with the Federal merit system principals, and not acting with discriminatory or retaliatory intent, management is within its right to establish and/or change promotion criteria.
However, it would be improper for management to change the promotion criteria if management is acting solely for the purposes of either (1) giving an employee an unfair advantage in the promotion/hiring process in violation of merit system principals, or (2) preventing you and others in particular from being promoted because of your race, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, participation in the EEO process, and/or whistleblowing activity. Absent any evidence that management violated merit system principals, or any evidence of discriminatory or retaliatory animus against you, management has not acted improperly.
This response is written by Christopher J. Keeven, supervisory attorney of Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm.
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