Hiring, Then Withdrawing Offer

[janni]

What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA

To get to the heart of the matter:

I didn't like my current employer, so I begin searching for another job. Found a company that I thought offered a lot in the way of benefits, advancement, etc. (a very large corporation).

My interviews went very well and they asked for me to complete their application and as well as a salary history, which I provided. I had done research prior to job hunting, so I put down an inflated figure that reasonably matched my "market value" as my current salary and scaled the salary history accordingly.

A week or so later I received a call confirming their offer of employment (a little higher than what I was "currently making") and I accepted over the phone. The HR person told me they would mail the official offer letter and in the meantime begin a background check that would take 4 to 5 days to complete.

I received the offer letter in the mail and much to my shock, in addition to the standard confidentiality agreements/etc I had to sign, their acceptance letter stated that I would be required to provide a copy of my most recent pay stub to verify my salary.

I countered by drafting up a letter politely declining, saying that I had had to sign a similar confidentiality agreement with my previous employer and could not release any type of company information, thank you for your understanding...

I received a call back from HR who said I was reading too much into my prior employer's confidentiality agreement and that my pay stubs were MY pay stubs. They were my property and providing a copy would not be considered a breach - they hadn't seen any problems with their other employees providing one. Anyhow, they told me the bottom line was it was their company policy for all prospective employees to provide a prior pay stub and I could not begin employment until I did.

I panicked at this point and apologized, admitting that I had inflated the numbers - they asked me how much and I told them...at which point they said they were retracting their offer because I had put false information on the employment application - there was nothing they could do but withdraw the offer.

I apologize for the length of this post, but as I'm back to square one, and this time out of a job, I wanted to make sure whether there was something I might be able to salvage from this situation...

Thank you for any comments you could provide...

 

[Ummonx]

no laws were broken as far as I can see. The employer was within his rights to request that information.

Being a paranoid person myself, I have always made sure I can verify my "present" salary one way or another.

 

[Beth3]

I had done research prior to job hunting, so I put down an inflated figure that reasonably matched my "market value" as my current salary and scaled the salary history accordingly. In other words, you lied to the employer and falsified your application.

I received the offer letter in the mail and much to my shock, in addition to the standard confidentiality agreements/etc I had to sign, their acceptance letter stated that I would be required to provide a copy of my most recent pay stub to verify my salary. Obviously your prospective employer didn't just fall off the turnip truck, eh? This apparently has happened to them before.

I countered by drafting up a letter politely declining, saying that I had had to sign a similar confidentiality agreement with my previous employer and could not release any type of company information, thank you for your understanding... Under the National Relations Act, wages generally cannot be included in a confidentiality agreement. Even if that were not the case, that would be a very peculiar stipulation to put in a confidentiality agreement which has to do with proprietary information: customer lists, designs, marketing plans, etc. Not your salary.

I received a call back from HR who said I was reading too much into my prior employer's confidentiality agreement and that my pay stubs were MY pay stubs. Completely correct.

I panicked at this point and apologized, admitting that I had inflated the numbers - they asked me how much and I told them...at which point they said they were retracting their offer because I had put false information on the employment application - there was nothing they could do but withdraw the offer. Yup, as would any other employer.

I apologize for the length of this post, but as I'm back to square one, and this time out of a job, I wanted to make sure whether there was something I might be able to salvage from this situation... Such as???

Thank you for any comments you could provide... You lied to gain personal financial advantage and it backfired.

 

[janni]

Ouch. Just for the record, my apologies to the prospective company were very sincere.

I would think that my not getting hired at a potentially great company and losing my current job in the process would be payment enough to satisfy everyone's sense of justice...can't please 'em all, I guess Still, thank you both for your responses.

Anyhow, another related question as I begin my jobsearch anew: I'm able to dodge the salary history requirement, begging my experience and skills to speak for my self-financial-worth and get hired (hypothetically) for $50,000 a year. Post-offer I find out they require a copy of a recent pay stub (which shows that I make $10,000 annually) - would that be reason enough (or even close) to be able to withdraw the offer?

Thanks again.

 

[cbg]

They're not going to pull a job offer because they found out they offered you more money than you were making before.

You lost the job offer because you LIED; not because you asked for too much money.

 

[cas0496]

I had done research prior to job hunting, so I put down an inflated figure that reasonably matched my "market value" as my current salary and scaled the salary history accordingly. In other words, you lied to the employer and falsified your application.

I received the offer letter in the mail and much to my shock, in addition to the standard confidentiality agreements/etc I had to sign, their acceptance letter stated that I would be required to provide a copy of my most recent pay stub to verify my salary. Obviously your prospective employer didn't just fall off the turnip truck, eh? This apparently has happened to them before.

I countered by drafting up a letter politely declining, saying that I had had to sign a similar confidentiality agreement with my previous employer and could not release any type of company information, thank you for your understanding... Under the National Relations Act, wages generally cannot be included in a confidentiality agreement. Even if that were not the case, that would be a very peculiar stipulation to put in a confidentiality agreement which has to do with proprietary information: customer lists, designs, marketing plans, etc. Not your salary.

I received a call back from HR who said I was reading too much into my prior employer's confidentiality agreement and that my pay stubs were MY pay stubs. Completely correct.

I panicked at this point and apologized, admitting that I had inflated the numbers - they asked me how much and I told them...at which point they said they were retracting their offer because I had put false information on the employment application - there was nothing they could do but withdraw the offer. Yup, as would any other employer.

I apologize for the length of this post, but as I'm back to square one, and this time out of a job, I wanted to make sure whether there was something I might be able to salvage from this situation... Such as???

Thank you for any comments you could provide... You lied to gain personal financial advantage and it backfired.

Is it not enough she got caught in a lie and had the balls enough to admit it to them without you ragging on her?? Everyone is out to make more money...give me a break with this moral crap already. She asked a simple question...perhaps a simple answer would suffice.

It seems obvious to me that a lot of you posters have nothing better to with your time than come on this board and slam everyone that ask simple questions. Try getting a real job (which would relieve some of your time on here) and stop passing "what you think" is actual legal advice and/or opinions. For gawd sakes!!