Questions about Verbal Job Offer

Verbal offers of employment are made very often. Yet, until something is specified in writing, it is possible for the offers to be rescinded. If you have questions about verbal offers relating to a new job opportunity or a potential employee, get in touch with Employment Lawyers on JustAnswer for legal help. Listed below are a few questions answered by the Lawyers on JustAnswer regarding verbal offers.

I live in Florida but accepted a verbal offer of employment to work in New York. I have emails that not only show me expressing my gratitude but also show how the company was happy to have me on their team. I was told that HR would be sending me the offer letter soon. Sometime later, the COO, who happened to be in town, wanted to meet with me. We had a five-minute meeting and later that evening I received an email rescinding the offer. I turned down another job opportunity in Florida to accept this one. Do I have a case against my potential employer?

Unfortunately, it is possible for an employer to make an offer to a potential employee and then withdraw it. However, if the employer makes a claim intentionally so that you end up losing your job, then you would have a legal case.

I am in Louisiana, and the human resources representative of a company made me a verbal offer of employment by telephone and said that I would be contacted soon for an employment physical. Later on, I was told that my job was no longer available. I did turn down another offer after I accepted this one. Can I take legal action against my potential employer?

The state you are in is an at-will employment state. So, there is nothing that you can really do if your job offer is withdrawn. The only possible legal case that you might have is if you were dependent on the job offer and moved residence or spent a big sum of money related to taking this job. However, even in that case, your employer could still terminate you even if you have worked for just a day.

A high school in Pennsylvania made me a verbal offer of employment recently. Later, when they discovered that I had been on “administrative leave” in my former place of employment, my calls and emails went unanswered. It’s been a week and I haven’t heard from them. Should I assume that the offer has been rescinded? Would I have a legal case against them?

If the school has given you a start date and hasn’t informed you if there is a change or cancellation, then you can assume that the offer still holds and show up at the premises on that day. However, if there is no start date in place and they have stopped communicating with you, then you can assume that they have rescinded the offer. If this is the case, then it’s possible that you cannot take any legal action since there is no signed contract in place and it’s just a question of your word against theirs, based on a verbal offer.

A woman, known to our hiring manager, was made a verbal offer of employment by the company. However, she hadn’t filled an application yet. Later, we realised that her ex-husband works for us and threatened to leave if we hired her. Can we take back the employment offer to the woman since it was only a verbal offer?

You may not discriminate against hiring potential employees on the basis of color, sex, age, national origin, ethnicity, religion, and disability of an individual. But you could change your decision based upon your understanding of a personal conflict. So, in all possibility, you could take back your offer of employment in this case. It would be better though if you didn’t specify the reason for doing this and simply withdraw the offer.

It is important for both employers and employees to know the implications of accepting and withdrawing a verbal offer of employment. You can always contact Employment Lawyers on JustAnswer and have them answer your questions both quickly and at very reasonable rates.