<ul><li>Supervisors play favorites all the time and assign a difficult project to the most skilled employee or the most profitable account to the best salesperson.</li><li>There is no federal or state law that prohibits favoritism based on performance in the workplace.</li><li>Favoritism based on a protected characteristic, such as an employee's race, gender, or age, is unlawful.</li><li>Supervisors should be transparent about their decisions and should document them to avoid getting sued.</li><li>Investigating complaints of favoritism internally is less costly than through the court system.</li><li>An investigation should consider whether favoritism is occurring, the reason for it, whether it impacts other employees, and how employees feel.</li><li>Nepotism is a form of favoritism where a supervisor favors an employee because of a familial relationship with that employee.</li><li>Takeaways: Favoritism is lawful when based on a lawful reason, investigate allegations of favoritism, document everything, train supervisors, and seek legal counsel.</li></ul>

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