Offer of employment prior to background check

I live in Illinois and have recieved an offer of employment based in Ohio.

The offer states "This is not a contract" at the bottom. I accepted the offer in Ohio. But I was told to give notice to my current employer. I did so. After giving notice My perspective new employer informed me that I must take a drug screen and a background check. Neither of these were mentioned prior to the offer or my notice. I have yet to complete an employment application.

In short, I will pass the drug screen and will likely pass the background with the exception of my reported income. However, can my perspective employer refuse to hire me based upon the background check results given the info above? ( assuming no criminal violations) Can they take back thier offer?

thanks.

Do I understand you to be saying that you told your prospective employer one salary figure when you actually earn a different one?

If so, if they discover this they most certainly can withdraw the offer. What's more, if they discover it after you are hired they can fire you. That's called a falsification of your application; the fact that you did not fill out an application form is immaterial.

If I am misunderstanding you and you simply want to know, in general, whether an offer can legally be withdrawn after acceptance, the answer is yes it can. Depending on the circumstances and the reason for the withdrawal you may or may not be entitled to compensation for it. However, in the real world, it's unlikely that they would do so unless their circumstances change drastically; for example, if between now and then a major investor pulls out and they have to do layoffs, they would not be required to take on a new employee even though they had submitted an offer letter.

For the most part, employers do not make employment offers that they do not intend to follow through on.

Thanks, The salary fiqure I gave them included my current bonus, I did not inform them of my base salary...they determined there offer based upon this fact.

Also, When I complete the backgorund check if I state that my current employer cannot be contacted, can the Hiring company or the Background check agency contact them in anyway?

thanks again.

Legally, yes they can. But in my experience the very large majority of employers are mindful of the fact that a reference check from a current employer can cost the employee their job, and therefore respect the applicant's wishes when they request that the current employer not be contacted.