Wrongful termination during processing?

[benvotaw]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio
On 1 SEP 2009 I was offered employment overseas with a reputable company overseas. The company is based in Houston, TX. I fulfilled all newhire paperwork and registration activities, and gave my employer my two week notice. Two weeks ago, as of today 22 SEP 2009, the new employer told me that during my background investigation a charge of assault from 2007 was grounds for not passing the background check for employment. I explained to them that this charge, ( that I told them about in writing before they did the check), was ammended to a 4th degree misdemeanor for disorderly conduct. The contact from the background department of this company then told me that this would clear me for my background check they just needed court paperwork stating that the charge had been ammended. I faxed them the paperwork from the court that same day, and asked if this was all they needed and they told me I was cleared. Two days later I contacted my recruiter from the company and was told that no clearance had been posted in their system yet. I have tried every business day since to contact someone and have been told from the background department to call back the next day...On Friday 18 SEP 2009 I explained to them that I was worried that I would lose my position that I had left and have no employment at all, I was told by the contact in the background department that I was cleared and not to worry. Today, 22 SEP 2009, I made contact to them again to check on my itenerary for departure and have been told that I am not cleared and will not be going, they stated that this is their final decision. I cannot get my old position back now as it has been filled and their are no other positions available at my old company. I was told by this new company that assaults were grounds for no clearance and I do not have an assault on my record... I have a 4th degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct from breaking up a fight... I feel that I have been treated highly unfairly and now am unemployed. I was told that the position was mine and that the clearance had gone through by the background department of this company, I had to verify this with them because I was leaving a position that a lot of my co workers wanted, and I was also leaving in the middle of my final year of course work to obtain licensing in that position. What can I do to gain this clearance? Or. Do I have a case against this new employer for their actions?

 

[Zigner]

You can't force them to hire you and you shouldn't have turned in notice until you knew you had a job.

 

[benvotaw]

I'm not looking to force them to hire me...I was told by them that this position was mine...I received my background paperwork from them as well and it stated the same thing I had already disclosed. I was told that they had implemented a new policy and have had contact from their legal department within the last hour stating that they never reviewed this case.
I am being told by one department that it's in the others hands and vice versa... I am just trying to find out what my rights are in this matter

 

[eerelations]

You don't have a case against this employer if you're not hired. The only time you might is if the reason you weren't hired was because of things like your race, gender, disability, age, or religion, and so on. This doesn't appear to be the siutuation here.

 

[commentator]

You don't want to hear what we have to tell you.

You can file for your unemployment benefits. You may or may not be approved. You voluntarily quit the old job for a new job that did not work out. In Ohio, that may get you unemployment benefits until you can get something else. But unless you had signed the formal acceptance and had been contractually hired, your verbal encouragements that you received from the new company that you were going to be or had been hired are not binding. It is pretty obvious you gave your old employer your notice not at the word that the hiring was in place, a done deal, but on the word that your information had been accepted for processing.

They may have just decided that even though you had only a fourth degree misdemeanor, they don't want you. You may have turned them off by your constant persistent demand to know when you would hear from them. But either way, you jumped the gun, you thought you were hired when you weren't, you left your old job on that assumption. And now you don't have actionable case against either of the two companies.

 

[pattytx]

Did you have an offer letter? If so, did it state the offer was contingent on a satisfactory background check?

 

[benvotaw]

I did receive an offer letter that stated it was contingent on a background check, I also received a letter from their background department stating I was cleared for duty, now I am being told that I am not and they have an "ombudsman" working on the matter. I was told this evening that this person would contact me within 24 hours to help to resolve the matter as it is not within this companies policy to deny employment based on anything less than a felony conviction. Thank you all for your help.

 

[cyjeff]

I once consulted to a company that, due to the high security requirements of this particular office, insisted that their employee get a new criminal background check every year.

So... even if they passed at initial hire, if another background check later on showed something was amiss, they could and would fire that person.

I agree with the above. It is regrettable that the person spoke too soon.