I interviewed for a job with an international company on or about July 30th of this year. The individual that interviewed me was the person to whom I would have reported directly. We concluded with her offerring the position to me and my subsequent acceptance. We even agreed on my start date which was August 12th. I gave her a copy of my resume and a completed hiring packet which included signed forms to check my credit and my background. After several weeks passed without a word from this company (I anticipated a call from HR to report for a drug screen), I called the person who interviewed me and have left several messages, but my calls have gone unreturned. I just found out this week (through a friend and customer of this company) that they finally filled the position with someone else. To make a long story short, I am no longer interested in working for that company given the way they apparently operate, however I feel that they are obligated to give me a reason as to why I was not hired. Some notes: I know my credit is excellent because I check it periodically. A background check on myself revealed nothing wrong there. I do not know how to reach the HR department of this company as I don’t know where they are based. The bottom line is that I suspect my situation has been handled unlawfully and I want them held accountable. Sorry for being so wordy.
I doubt it’s unlawful. Did you actually get an offer letter? If not I doubt a verbal agreement to hire would be enforcable.
But there are honest to God lawyers out there who might disagree.
Wouldn’t a call to the local office point you in the right direction for the HR location?
IANAL but with respect to the “unlawful” part that you would sue them for I think you would have to establish that a contract (of some sort) existed between you and the company that was breached. I think it would be a fair bet that there is some sort of wiggle room in the hire package boilerplate that the offer is not effective unless all contingencies are met to their satisfaction. It would be up to you to make the argument otherwise.
I don’t wish to be mean here but what have you been doing about it? It’s been four months since the interview, and by your own admission, it was several weeks after that before you attempted to contact the company.
And different companies have different standards for what they consider “acceptable” in terms of credit, reference checks, etc. I lost a job offer because a company I worked for went out of business, thereby leaving me with a gap in my resume that I can’t provide a reference for. Even though I offered to provide proof of employment in the form of check stubs and Social Security records, that wasn’t acceptable.
I would definitely make an effort to contact these people and find out what the deal is so it doesn’t become an issue when you look for a job elsewhere.
Robin
Something seems strange here. Is there anymore information that you can give us? How could you have applied for the job if you don’t know where the home office is? Does the company have a web site? Does your friend how gave you the inside scoop know anything about the home office.
If you were given an offer letter and you signed it in the allotted time given, it seems like you have a valid contract. Generally, the contract is voided if they find something wrong with your application. Do you have any untruths or exagerations about your education or prior work experience on the application. They are obligated to give you a copy of your background check and give you a chance to respond.
Something about how you have presented the facts doesn’t sit right with me.
Haj
The reason I haven’t done much about it is threefold: 1) My phone calls were not returned and I feared to drive the distance necessary to confront her in person would have made me appear crazy/desperate and jeopardized a possibly still forthcoming call from HR (call me optimistic). 2) I conjectured that an increasingly weak forecast in that particular business sector caused the company to delay filling the position. Now you may ask why I would want to enter that business sector given the outlook at that time. The simple answer is the business I’m currently in is much worse and still declining to this day. 3) I know for a fact that the position I was offered was just filled last week.
if you got a letter of intent to employ you and they didnt they would need to qualify the reasons…which could be valid and acceptable
in the uk i would approach my citizens bureau for advice but they would need all the pertinent information. and i suppose anywhere
you need to be clear of your objective…is it to actually get the job, redress, or apology.
there is a thing in this country called a job description…to give the job to someone else they only need to change the job description to include factors you dont fit…and whether the other person is competent is not for your information.
its a dark world when things go this way
hope you get some clarity and focus on the situation
cheers:(
Verbal contracts are generally enforcible, however you need to prove that there was such a contract. However, if the offer was conditionall, e.g. pending on your references checking out etc., they need to give you a valid reason and you should be given a chance to appeal.
Usual Disclaimers. (As the OP is a new poster - While IAAL, I am not a lawyer in your state. I’m not your lawyer, and you’re not my client. This response is general information only. For advice about your own situation, see a lawyer in your state.)
While oral contracts are generally enforceable, a prospective employee in your situation isn’t help much by that fact if the prospective job is an at-will position. If you could be terminated at any time, for no reason, the failure to give you the job wouldn’t result in any damages.
(Half my response got cut off.)
I have seen a very few cases where the prospective employee quit an existing job in reliance on the offer and was able to recover damages on that basis.
Was the position you were offered a unionized job? It’s not unusual for the union-employer contract to stipulate that job offers cannot be withdrawn. So, you may want to contact the union for assistance. If the union accepts that you were offered a job, they will probably consider you to be a member of the bargaining unit, and can file a grievance on your behalf. You may end up being awarded the job, or lost wages for the time you were forced to continue your job search. I would try this route before considering legal action, since the latter is very time-consuming and expensive.