Can an employer hire you and then mail you a letter denying employment a few days before you were supposed to start?
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Can an employer hire you and then mail you a letter denying employment a few days before you were supposed to start?
My boyfriend just had his first second and third interviews with an employer. He signed all papers for being hired and the employer told him that he would be starting next week. The employer said that they would call him with his schedule. Now two days before he was supposed to start work they mailed a letter saying that he’s now not hired due to his record. He served 30 days probation when he was 18. He is now 21. Are they allowed to hire him and now turn around and say no?
Asked on February 3, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If there was no actual employment contract entered into between your boyfriend and the employer, they could withdraw their employment offer (especially if, for example, some additional information came up during a background check). There is an exception: if--
1) they promised your boyfriend the job;
2) to take the job, your boyfriend did something significant to his detriment, like giving up an existing job or relocating;
3) it was reasonable for your boyfriend to rely on this promise (e.g. it seemed very "solid"); and
4) the employer knew or should have known that your boyfriend to do this (for example, they knew he had another job at the time), but still made the promise, intending that he rely on it and act to his detriment
--then in that situation, the "detrimental reliance" by your boyfriend may make the promise of a job binding, under the theory of "promissory estoppel."
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