Oral Employment Contract Help Please

Factual Questions
1

I’m hoping this question might find the desk of a US Employment Lawyer…or someone with personal experience with this situation.

A thousand thanks in advance for your assistance with this matter.

My situation:

Through a headhunter, I am competiting for a job with Company X. I’ve been through 3 sets of interviews and a trip to their Industrial/Organizational Psychologist.

I am informed that I am the final candidate and I will be given an offer on Friday (10th). The headhunter calls me representing Company X and tells me offer details via an email.

I pushback on base salary and a few other items…she takes my new terms to the VP of HR…he proposes meeting halfway on comp and other items…I agree, headhunter sends me email with final terms (not an offer letter, but a listing of agreed to items that will be on the offer letter). I indicate that I will sign an offer letter with these terms.

Company X asks me to go to local health care facility and get drug screen, physical, BAC, etc., I complete this step without problems. Company X also gets me temporary apartment (new job is 7 hours away) with specific dates of move in/move out and calls local real estate agent to step up house hunting trips.

On Friday, I am told that VP of HR has computer problems, he will email me offer letter on Saturday.

No offer letter comes on Saturday…I place a call and leave VP a message, I’m supposed to start on the 17th, I don’t have an offer letter.

On Monday morning, I do not hear from VP, I call headhunter…inform her offer letter has not arrived…she calls VP of HR…he tells her computer problem still isn’t fixed (hard drive died) they are rebuilding his computer now tells headhunter that their isn’t a problem, offer letter is done and on his hard drive, if they can’t fix PC problem he will re-write it on different computer and email it to me by end of day Monday. Go ahead and work on moving arrangements to temp apartment for start date on the 17th.

Monday afternoon (last week) I get a call from the headhunter saying that the VP of HR was informed of a newly available candidate Monday at a lunch meeting through an internal referral…headhunter tells me that this candidate has an already established relationship with Company X. VP tells headhunter that my offer letter is on hold until they put this other candidate through the process that will end this Wednesday.

From where I sit…this is highly unprofessional and further more…tells me that I’m screwed as they wouldn’t stop the process with me unless this other candidate is a great fit for the job.

My questions.

  1. I fully expect to be blown off on Wednesday…given that and the fact that I am extremely pissed off with this situation…do I have a case here where I can sue Company X for an Oral Employment Contract claim?

  2. If I can…what types of damages does one go for with this type of lawsuit?

  3. Is there such a thing as suing someone for an Oral Employment claim or is it breach of contract?

  4. Isn’t it against ADA to have me go through a medical exam and drug screen, etc. without already having an signed offer letter?

  5. If I have zero case…or one that is very unlikely to win…what can say/do to get these guys to give me something for the time and money that my wife and I spent trying to hurry up and get moved in a short timeframe only to have to turnaround and cancel these plans because of this screw job?

Again, thank you anyone for your time and energy in this matter.

2

I’m a lawyer, but I’m not your lawyer, I’m not licensed in your jurisdiction, and I’m not an expert in employment law.

You really should talk to a lawyer to find out for sure, but at first blush, I think you’re just screwed – they found somebody they want more than they want you and that’s all there is to it. Even if they had sent you an offer letter and you had signed it and sent it back, unless there was some kind of guarantee in there that they wouldn’t change their minds (which I doubt), they could still have changed their minds at the last minute and hired the other guy. So, to your specific questions –

  1. I doubt it very much (but ask a lawyer). Employment is at-will in this country. There’s rarely any such thing as a written employment contract. Oral employment contracts are very hard to establish – usually, they can only be found in a situation in which you’re already working for someone.

  2. In your case, I doubt there are provable damages (but ask a lawyer). Most damages in employment cases are for back pay. Since you never started working, you can’t show that they owe you back pay.

  3. Most employment claims are a type of contract claim.

  4. I’m not an expert on the ADA, but at first blush, I don’t see how you can have an ADA claim based on a physical or drug test. The ADA is about discrimination against people with disabilities. If you think they’re misusing your personal health information, there might be a HIPAA issue implicated.

  5. What can you say? You can be honest and say, look, you told me to get ready to start my job and I have been put out $X. Personally speaking, I wouldn’t ask for “time,” just the actual amount of money you have spent. But consult a lawyer first. I’d ask him if it might be better for you to try contacting them directly, though, before you have the lawyer send any nastygrams.

3

I am a lawyer, but not an employment lawyer, and this area of law varies significantly by state, so for specific questions you should consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction.

However, a general answer is that in most US states, unless there is a specific employment contract, employment is “at will.” That means that the employer can terminate the employee at any time and for any reason (except for a legally prohibited reason like race, sex, disability, etc. discrimination). Similarly, the employer can change the terms of employment, including salary, hours, work location, etc. at any time for any reason (except for a legally prohibited reason). The employee’s only recourse would be to quit, which he or she can generally do at any time and for any reason.

Under this rule, even if the company had made a formal, written offer to you, it could withdraw it at any time, including before you started. There would be no employment contract unless there was something specificaly agreeing to employ you for a designated period of time under identified terms.

Accordingly, in most states, you are simply out of luck. If they offer the job to the other person, you can request something from the company for your time and expenses, but they don’t have to give you anything. Again, your rights may vary, and a lawyer in your state would be able to advise you on this.

Sorry.

4

I also am a lawyer, but not an employment lawyer, and I echo the others in suggesting that you should talk to an employment lawyer in your own jurisdiction to get the real scoop.

I would think that for the reasons discussed above, at best you might be able to get compensation for expenses you incurred in preparing for the job - in your case, this sounds primarily like moving expenses. That’s what I’d ask for if they blow you off on Wednesday.

5

I think it was Sam Goldwin who said that “a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it is printed on”.

6

Unless you’re whooshing me, BrotherCadfael, I’m going to say it’s unlikely – written contracts are verbal contracts. (Verbal means using language and can refer to both oral and written statements.)

–Cliffy

7

Unfortunately, a lot of people use “verbal” when they mean “oral.”

8

For what it’s worth, I’m a labor lawyer and I think you’re probably screwed. Technically, I suppose one could argue that the headhunter is your agent and that the employer, in effect, offered you the job informally through her and that you are therefore entitled to some kind of reliance damages. But you seem to acknowledge that the job was never offered to you and in any event, in many jurisdictions, an employer can renege on an offer of at-will employment without any consequences. Moreover, if you did pursue the matter in court, I can just about guarantee you that the employer will claim that it made clear to the headhunter that there was no firm offer and that the headhunter will make a similar claim.

If somebody called me up with your story, I would tell them that I’d be happy to help them for an hourly rate, but I won’t take the case on contingency (hint hint).

(standard disclaimer about legal advice)

Free advice: Don’t spend any money in reliance on a job offer until you actually get the offer.

:rolleyes:

9

Thanks all…appreciate the comments, candor and honesty.

Hope I can return the favor one day.

10

What? It does!

11

Sorry to hijack, but come on.

One of the definitions of “verbal” is as follows:

It seems pretty clear to me that this is what BrotherCadfael meant.

12

It is perfectly possible that I have misquoted the late, great, Sam Goldwin.

On the other hand, how could anyone tell?

13

If you use the word verbal to mean oral in front of a judge, lucwarm, you’ll be soundly mocked, regardless of how many dictionaries have bowed to a common incorrect usage.

–Cliffy

14

Isn’t the point of say “a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.” To point out that there is in fact no paper and hence no value to said agreement.

15

For what it’s worth, I’m in court almost every day and most of the judges I deal with are reasonable and practical enough to not comment on such a thing. I will concede though that some judges are annoying pains in the (*(**. How this justifies nitpicking somebody in a snotty way is beyond me.

16

I have had offers pulled out from me on a lot of occasions. Virtually all came from an internal candidate that “Changed” his mind and wanted the job.

Sometime H/R will use an outside canidate as leverage or the inside employee will hold out for more till they see H/R is willing to hire and outsider. Then the insider takes less.

FWIW the first time this happened to me I was told unless you can prove actually monetary loss (e.g. quitting your job to take this new job and you can’t “unquit” it) you are screwed.

It sounded fishy. So what if the guy’s computer is broke?

Offer letters can be hand typed and walked down to the currency exchange and faxed or mailed overnight to you.

If they really wanted you they would have gotten that letter to you hook, line or sinker.

Also after 9-11 I know at least 4 people that got their offers rejected. One girl quit a job at the hotel I was with to take another. They recinded the offer and she was told “tough luck.” We of course didn’t hire her back. I don’t know if there was any special dealings with 9-11.