What are my rights if I applied to a job that required a background check, however I did not pass the check due to a mistake made by the company that runs these checks?
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What are my rights if I applied to a job that required a background check, however I did not pass the check due to a mistake made by the company that runs these checks?
I was told that once I passed the check, the job would be mine. A couple weeks went by and I asked my employer if when the check is cleared, may I get the job and they said “yes”. Once the background check was cleared, the employer said the position wasn’t available anymore. Can I recover from either the employer or the background check company for the time I could have been working which was 20 days.
Asked on August 20, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
No, unfortunately you cannot recover from either the background check company or the employer there is no right to be employed, or any obligation or duty on the part of the employer to give you a job. Without a right, duty, or obligation for employment, there is no legal claim for being denied employment. Just as I could choose to pay for dinner for my friend, but he could not sue me if I chose to not pay for him, so can you not sue an employer who chooses to not employ you, or anyone else involved in the decision to not hire you, because the decision to hire you is as voluntary as my decision to pay for dinner for my friend.
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