Jobs

Is an internal job posting system legally required?

Ask the Job Doc. Boston.com

September 19, 2016

2 minutes to read

Q: I’ve worked at my company for four years on a part-time basis. A full-time opening became available in September. The role was offered to another part-timer, who had less seniority than I do. The opening was not posted within the company. My question is this: Are there regulations/laws which require private, non-union, employers to post openings internally, as well as externally, or can the manager choose to hire someone directly?

A: Most employers have an internal job posting process, which allows employees to apply for open roles within the company, before external applicants are considered. However, employers can create their own rules and guidelines for such a system. Most companies post many open positions, but not necessarily all open positions.

I consulted Attorney Jonathan Sigel, Partner, Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits Group, Mirick O’Connell. Sigel offered “While it is not uncommon for private, non-union employers, to post job openings internally for a period of time before advertising for candidates outside of the organization, neither Massachusetts nor federal law requires that internal postings precede an external search or, for that matter, that there be any internal posting.”

Practically, it may make sense to let your supervisor know that you are interested in a full-time role. Some part-time employees are part-timers for life. If your company does not post jobs internally on a regular basis, you have to make your wish to move to a full-time role known. What may have happened with the other part-timer is just that. The employee probably expressed an interest in a full-time role and when one became available, your employer offered the role to your co-worker. Sometimes when part-timers are hired, they are hired with the desire to go full-time at some point in the future. This also may have been the situation with your colleague. We have clients that regularly hire part-timers, who at the time of hire, share their interest in a full-time role after they have been in their role for six months or one year. Or the employee might express an interest in working at another location or working a different schedule.

Few companies post every single job opening. Although posting systems are a smart way to retain employees, the employer may do both at once – post internally while also searching externally at the same time. Some employers will also look externally for other reasons. Maybe they have just conducted a similar search and no one internally was a strong candidate. Or they want specific experience that they can only find outside of their company.

My advice – let your supervisor know that you are interested in a full-time role. Your supervisor might assume that you would like to continue in a part-time role since you have worked part-time for four years thus far.