Mateo, who was born in and grew up in Puerto Rico and learned English as a second language, graduated first in his class from the best business...

Mateo, who was born in and grew up in Puerto Rico and learned English as a second language, graduated first in his class from the best business school in the U.S. when he was 42. He has been working in a low-level clerical job, under a contract for a period of 12 months, in a prestigious accounting firm in Seattle. About six months after the firm first hired Mateo, the firm decides to hire someone who has graduated from a business school. Since Mateo has the highest qualifications of anyone in the state of Washington, and he needs more money to support his domestic partner, whom he had met while both were soldiers in the U.S. war in Afghanistan, he applies for the job. Ellen, who was born in the U.S., is 27 years old, and had graduated from a less prestigious business school with mediocre grades and has been working in a different, mid-level accounting firm in Seattle, gets an offer for the job from the firm's assistant hiring manager, who offers it to Ellen due to the employer's affirmative action policies for women. The assistant manager also decides to fire Mateo from his low-level position, stating that he was an atwill employee. Identify and explain all applicable legal issues and their probable outcomes.