Should I be really pissed off at my boss?

Question

I have been working for the past year as a relief Receptionist at a busy Real Estate Office. I love it. If the Property Manager goes away I am called in and if the Receptionist goes away I am called in. The Receptionist resigned two weeks ago ( while I was filling in there ) as she got a different job so I assumed I would be a candidate for the job. Found out late last week that I wasnt. He said to the Property Manager that I would cost to much because of my age and he ended up employing a 18 year old who he will now have to train. I am 38. To make matters even worse he has asked me to come in tomorrow and next week to help her out as the Receptionist leaves today and the new girl still isnt confident enough to do it alone. I am pissed!!!! I said I would do it because money is money and I want to see the boss myself as everything I know is from the Property Manager. I expect him to call me into his office and I want some good stuff to say to him. Any suggestions on what I can say ?

Answer 1

I'm not clear on something: have you applied for the job before they hire the new person? If yes, then you can be a bit mad. If not, then you didn't ask for the job, and so you can't blame the hiring supervisor.

If you speak to your boss, I recommend starting the conversation with something like "I was hoping to get this job, but I understand that you made your decision to choose another candidate. Was there something that I could have done better to get this job?"

See if he would actually have any sound advice, maybe that would be helpful information to have when hunting for another job, assuming that you will move on and look for a new job after that.

Also, if it is clear that you may not get the job anytime soon, then make sure to remain on good terms with him so that you can use him as a good reference when looking for a new job.

Don't take it too personal, life isn't fair sometimes ... just move on to something that hopefully will turn up to be better. Good luck!

Answer 2

This is age discrimination. Even though you are not yet age 40 (the protected class for age), the law was amended not long ago to include employers who replace older workers with younger workers for discriminatory reasons, expecially under circumstances this blatant. Document exactly what occurred (date, time, who said what, any witnesses to the conversation, etc.) before you forget.

Contact your local labor board and file a discrimination claim. The Federal site is www.dol.gov and should link to the one for your area.

If you tell the big boss you are filing an age discrimination claim, I guarantee you s/he should sit up and take notice. Or you could just shut up and put up until the DoL surprises them with a subpoena. :)