This happened at our company: A manager quit (the first manager) and to fill the job an employee was promoted. The second manager got excellent reviews, but he was never paid as much as the first manager. He asked for an increase but was denied. Then he was demoted, supposedly for poor performance, but with no documentation or warnings. He was replaced with an employee who was promoted into the job (the third manager), who was immediately paid the same amount as the first manager. The first manager was a young white male, the third manager was a young white male, but the second manager was a Mexican-American over 40. Please give me your opinion on this matter if you could.

Rita Risser replies:

When the second manager was making less than the first, it might not be illegal. There could be a legitimate reason to pay an employee newly promoted into management less than an experienced manager. However, when the third manager, who also had just been promoted, received as much as the first, it sounds like discrimination on the basis of national origin and age.