No Headhunter contract...

[jalter]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I was recently contacted by a headhunter in Maryland where they asked me if they could submit my resume to an employer for consideration.

The headhunter in question had no contract to seek employees for this firm, nor did they contract me before submitting my resume. They found out about the opportunity via a posting the employer had placed on a public listing board called Craig's List and they found my resume by doing a search on another public posting board called Dice.com.

Yesterday I attended a face to face interview. The employer was very impressed and has expressed an interest in hiring me. I too would love to accept an offer. However the headhunter who submitted resume has jacked their fees so high that it makes it virtually impossible for the employer to hire me.

My question is what, if any, are the legal ramifications if the employer were to simply tell the headhunter agency no thanks and then hire me directly?

Any advice or assistance would be HUGELY appreciated considering I've been laid off now for almost a year! Thank you in advance.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by jalter

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I was recently contacted by a headhunter in Maryland where they asked me if they could submit my resume to an employer for consideration.

The headhunter in question had no contract to seek employees for this firm, nor did they contract me before submitting my resume. They found out about the opportunity via a posting the employer had placed on a public listing board called Craig's List and they found my resume by doing a search on another public posting board called Dice.com.

Yesterday I attended a face to face interview. The employer was very impressed and has expressed an interest in hiring me. I too would love to accept an offer. However the headhunter who submitted resume has jacked their fees so high that it makes it virtually impossible for the employer to hire me.

My question is what, if any, are the legal ramifications if the employer were to simply tell the headhunter agency no thanks and then hire me directly?

Any advice or assistance would be HUGELY appreciated considering I've been laid off now for almost a year! Thank you in advance.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

The headhunter must have reached some agreement with the company before providing your contact information, so this is a dispute between the employer and the headhunter. If they hire you behind the headhunter's back, the headhunter can (and likely will) sue for breach of contract.

There is nothing preventing the employer from renegotiating with the headhunter. If you are not hired, the headhunter gets zero.