Can I sue for being denied employment due to my background after an offer was made with a start date?
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Can I sue for being denied employment due to my background after an offer was made with a start date?
I was offered employment with a start date and a supervisor told me that my background wasn’t to their satisfaction. Before the offer they told me no felonies which I have none and I haven’t received a copy of my background check with reason for denial.
Asked on March 1, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Only if you had an actual written employment contract for a defined or set period of time (such as a one-year contract) with a definite start date which as violated and which contract was violated could you sue. (If you had such a contract, you would sue for "breach of contract," or for not honoring their contractual obligations.) It's not enough to be told a start date: it had to be part of a contract for a set or defined period of time, since only a contract for a set or defined period of time restrains the employer's otherwise free discretion to end or discontinue or deny employment at any time they want.
In the absence of such a contract, you were an employee at will and they could terminate you at will, or alternately renege on a promised or offered job. As an employee at will, you have no rights to or guaranty of a job. Also, as an employee at will, they do not legally owe you a reason for the denial: they can simply decide to not hire you, and don't have to explain why.
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