Legal Question in Employment Law in California

There is no law that requires private employers to post jobs internally or externally, although it is a good employment practice to do so to avoid suspicion, as you apparently have. Failure to allow for open application for a position can be used as evidence of discrimination, if protected classifications of employees are excluded from the opportunity to apply.

If you believe the hiring is race or gender based, or any other classification protected by law, you should consult with experienced employment counsel in your area.

Yes.

The employer is entitled to hire and fire, set and change hours, duties, titles, compensation, benefits, leaves, vacations, holidays, policies, rules, etc. just not retroactively. Employees have the 'right' to pay and employee benefits per the CA wage and hour laws, and formal company policy as agreed, to be provided a 'safe' workplace to minimize risk of injury, and sometimes are entitled to certain medical/pregnancy leave rights. That's about it. There are no laws against 'unfair treatment' or poor management. In general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, with or without �cause�, explanation or notice, other than for illegal discrimination, harassment or retaliation under the ADA disability, Civil Rights [age, race, sex, ethnic, religion, pregnancy, etc], Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. The employee's goal should be to keep the employer happy.

Now, if you contend this actually 'discriminates' against you in violation of those civil rights laws because you are a member of one of those protected categories, feel free to contact me.

Equal Opportunity Employer is a meaningless phrase in this day and age. Back before there were solid and enforced laws against discrimination based on race, religion, etc., companies used that to tell the world that they had their own non-discrimination policies in place and that all applicants were welcome to apply for any jobs they were taking applications for. Even then, however, it never meant that they advertised all jobs and that a hiring mananger would never call up someone he had worked with before or went to college with or whatever, who he or she knew would be good for the job, and offer it to them, rather than advertising the job for applications. Now the internal policies have been replaced by laws, and the internal policies just ensure compliance with the law, but the law doesn't prohibit direct hiring anymore than the old policies did, as long as it is not done in order to engage in illegal discrimination.