a job was offered and then rejected,what laws govern that?

Answer 1

Do you have an offer letter in your hand?

If so... you have legal recourse. If not... you're screwed.

Answer 2

Lawyer here. First, where are you? If in the US you probably have no rights, whether you have an offer letter or not. The law of contracts is that an offer can be withdrawn at any time before it is accepted. So if an offer of employment was made to you in the US, if they withdrew the offer before you said "yes," you didn't even have an employment contract to start with.

Next, in the US in all states employment contracts are considered "at will" contracts. This means that either party may cancel the contract for any reason. Now there are some reasons that an employer cannot use--race, creed, color, ethnic origin, sex for example, but otherwise, even if you had an employment contract at one moment, because of the "at will" legal doctrine, it could be cancelled by you or the prospective employer at the next moment. An employer can simply fire you because he doesn't like you or doesn't think you fit into his workplace or team of employees.

Third, most employers these days are making offers "contingent" and frequently those contingencies make the offer of employment subject to conditions like all references checking out, all stated education being verified, passing a background check, having a credit check performed and having satisfactory credit, and/or passing a drug test. They can offer a position before all the information is back on these things too. So, if your offer was made contingent upon one or more of those things, the offer could also have been withdrawn if something wasn't right in your application and was discovered after the offer was extended. Moreover, the employer is not obligated to tell you why the offer was withdrawn, although he may have to tell a governmental agency why if an inquiry is made--like by the EEOC.

Basically, in the US if you cannot prove that the offer was withdrawn for an illegal reason (race, creed, color, ethnic origin, sex, age) you have no recourse.

That said, there is one possibility for recourse, if an offer was made and you quit another job in reliance on that offer, you might be able to get damages for relying on the offer that was withdrawn--but again, that would only be an effective course of action if you can prove: the offer was made, you accepted the offer, the prospective employer knew or should have known that you quit the other job in reliance on the offer he has made, AND that any contingency made in the offer (like you take a drug test and pass) have been met or have not occurred that would justify withdrawal of the offer. All a very hard thing to put together...and then you wouldn't get the job after all--just a reasonable measure of money damages.

Best to just pick yourself up and move on is my advice.

Answer 3

YES,here in the u.k it is illegal,unless they found you lied on your application,or you have a certain criminal record and not declared it.
Even if the job was offered verbally,you have a claim with industrial tribunals here,always try to get offers confirmed in writing,its easier to prove.Or you could do what i do,take a mini tape recorder with you,but some say you must tell that you have one,i sucessfully sued a company for refusing to employ me on the grounds i am a woman.
Dont let this go if you know you have done everything properly.Check if your not in U.K your employment laws,you can find them in the library or online.Good luck.:):)
Always keep copies of applications,and there will be a paper trail with the company stating you went to interview and the notes taken etc,
You are entitled to a copy of any data they have on you under the data protection act,unless the job is with a company protected by that law,i,e MI5 etc hehe.
Keep logs of telephone calls etc,you can get a recording device for your telephone ,you have more rights than you think,but i can only speak for the U.K I know what im saying is correct,as i sit on tribunals,and have many years experience as a union rep.I know the U.K employment laws rather well,much to the chagrin of employers.Lol.:):)
I wish you had said which country you wer from,maybe someone could have done some rooting online for you.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, even if you have an offer letter in your hand, it is just that; an "offer". No-one (on either side) is under any obligation.

You might want to consider why the offer was rejected. Was some detail "missing" that was subsequently found out?

Best wishes...

Answer 5

You probably can't get the offer back (and why would you want to at this point), and unless you signed a contract you can't get $$$ compensation. You can however, if you are in the U.S., report the incident to the Better Business Bureau. I think it's at http://www.bbb.com

Answer 6

Nothing you can do.
Perhaps they spoke a little to soon,ran a backround check and
changed their mind.
Do you have a drunk driving on your record?
This can bite you, even if it many years old.

Good luck.

(order a backround check on yourself,look for mistakes!)

Answer 7

nothing! they have the write to do whatever they want. especailly if no signed contract is involved. its not very professional, but there is not law to help you out.

Answer 8

I don't believe there is a law for that.

Answer 9

You blew the interview. I won't go into the long winded legalese, MOVE ON.

Answer 10

Thank goodness for William E, it's what he said!