You get to choose which promotion criteria to favor

When setting promotion criteria, feel free to give educational attainment more weight than years of experience on the job. It’s your call.

Recent case: Marcus had worked for UPS for a decade when he unsuccessfully applied for a promotion.

UPS said it selected a woman with less experience because she had a master’s degree. Also, she had been rated in her last evaluation as “ready now for promotion.” Marcus neither had a master’s degree, nor had he been rated as ready to move up. He had been rated as “still developing.”

Marcus sued, alleging sex and other discrimination. The court disagreed, dismissing his lawsuit. It reasoned that UPS was free to determine that education counted more than experience. (Hackett v. UPS, 5th Cir., 2018)