Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Unfair employment practices
I work for a company that
has about 10 offices and
over one hundred
employees. I am a female
over 40. We have no real HR
dept. There are no formal
HR procedures for reviews,
raises, promotions. I have
worked here in the same
position for 7 years and
never had a performance
review. I have had two raises
and my work is considered
to be excellent. The company
does not post open jobs
internally or externally. The
jobs are often already filled
by the time most employees
find out about them, giving
them no opportunity to
compete for the promotions
or new jobs. I feel this is
unfair, but I am having
trouble finding out exactly
what laws they may be
breaking, what my rights are
and what I should do about it
next. This week a promotion
was given to a woman like
me for a position that no
one, including me, had any
idea was even open at this
time (except for the woman
who got it I suppose). I
would appreciate any info
you could give me. Are
employers required to
advertise open jobs
internally as well as
externally?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Unfair employment practices
No, unless there's a collective bargaining agreement or a written policy. If you suspected discrimination based upon protected characteristics, then further investigation would be warranted. You might have a friendly (and not accusatory!) chat with whoever makes such decisions, and explain that you want to be considered for the next round of promotions.
Re: Unfair employment practices
Maybe no laws are being broken. Private employers do not have to post job openings, do not have to have a Human Resource Department, do not have to give performance reviews and pay raises and do not have to be fair.
To be competitive and hire or retain good employees, most companies will do these things, which must tell you something about the quality of the company you work for.
Sometimes, by not applying sound employment practices and procedures, companies leave themselves open for discrimination claims. If you believe your employer intentionally avoids job postings and performance reviews to favor a particular gender, race, national origin, religion, age, or some other protected class of people, you should meet with an experienced employment law attorney to see if there is any substance to your belief.
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