Arizona court finds failure to promote was not racially motivated

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids race discrimination (among other protected categories) in any aspect of employment, including failure to promote and any other term or condition of employment. Employers should take care when reviewing candidates internally and follow an established process so they can support their promotion decisions. Employees who aren’t promoted may feel slighted and allege discrimination based on a protected category. What are some best practices to limit liability when employees claim they were denied a promotion based on their race?

Prelude to litigation

Jason Adkinson, a Black male, worked for the Phoenix Union High School District as an electrician. He applied to become the chief electrician and was interviewed for the position along with two others, one of whom was his supervisor, Arthur Segoviano. Segoviano was awarded the position.

Adkinson filed a race discrimination claim against the district under the failure-to-promote theory. The district asked the court to enter judgment in its favor.

Failure to promote

To establish disparate treatment under Title VII, Adkinson had to produce evidence suggesting the district’s decision not to offer him the promotion was “due in part or whole to discriminatory” motives. Toward that end, he had to show: