Your New Employer Rescinds Your Job Offer—After You’ve Quit Your Old Job.

What’s Your Recourse?

It’s a nightmare scenario—but not unheard of. You receive a job offer, you’re thrilled and give your two weeks’ notice at your old job—and then the offer is rescinded. Sometimes it can be rescinded after you’ve left your previous job and moved across the country for your new one.

What can you do? What damages can you collect, if any? Your options may be limited—but you do have some options. Here are some factors that may influence whether you have a case in court.

“Additional Consideration” 

Pennsylvania is an at-will state—and most other states are, too. That means either the employer or employee can terminate the employment for any reason, at any time. And in general, a job offer letter is not considered a binding contract, so it can be challenging gaining restitution when your job offer is rescinded.

However, in Pennsylvania, there are some protections—and courts have in the past protected workers’ rights in these situations. Generally, these revolve around whether you have provided “additional consideration” beyond the services for which you were hired, or underwent a significant hardship in order to take this job.

Courts in Pennsylvania have historically sided with employees who demonstrated that they made a significant investment or upended their life to take a job that was later rescinded—such as quitting their old job and moving across state lines, selling their old house and buying a new one, turning down other job offers, and relocating their family.

Discriminatory Reasons for Rescinding

There are many reasons why an employer might rescind your job offer, and not all are unlawful. Some examples include:

• You failed a background check, credit check, or drug test
• The financial situation changed for the employer
• Your employer found a conflict of interest between this job and one you held in the past

These are generally not unlawful reasons to rescind a job offer. However, there are also unlawful reasons a job offer is rescinded—for instance, if the reason is discriminatory.

One example that’s sadly not uncommon involves pregnancy. There have been a number of cases where a job offer was rescinded because the employer found out the employee was pregnant or had recently had a baby. This is unlawful under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

If Your Job Offer Was Rescinded, Talk to an Employment Attorney

It’s not true that you have no recourse in court if your job offer was rescinded. We have helped many clients gain restitution in these situations.

If your job offer was rescinded, you should speak to an experienced Pennsylvania employment attorney. Call us at 267-273-1054 or email us at murphy@phillyemploymentlawyer.com for a free, confidential consultation today. 

The information provided here does not constitute legal advice. It is intended for general purposes only. If you have questions about a specific legal issue, you should speak to an attorney.