Attorney Jim Hykel and Local 26 Stand Up for Fair Promotions at Boston Park Plaza

On April 17, 2024, a neutral arbitrator awarded victory to UNITE HERE Local 26 in a case where the Boston Park Plaza bypassed a number of more senior employees to promote their hand-picked candidate. Pyle Rome attorney Jim Hykel won the case for the Union.

Promotional bypass cases are very hard to win because most contracts give the employer the right to choose between qualified candidates. But in this case, there were two huge strikes against the Hotel's selection. First, the Hotel had announced their pick even before conducting the interviews, making clear that management was not giving all candidates fair consideration. And second, the Hotel relied on "inaccurate and misleading information" to suggest their selection - the candidate with the least amount of seniority - was more qualified than the other candidates when it was clear that he was not. The arbitrator ordered the Hotel to rescind the promotion and to award the promotion to one of the more-senior qualified candidates.