Is It Illegal for Potential Employers To Ghost You?

Most of us know what it’s like to be “ghosted” by someone, whether a potential romantic partner, a new friend, or a relative. As difficult as it may be, you have to suck it up and accept that the other person just isn’t interested in maintaining a relationship with you. What do you do when a potential employer ghosts you?

The job searching process can be difficult, regardless of whether you already have a job or are unemployed. To go through the application and interview process only to have the employer cut off all contact with you can be frustrating. It probably feels worse than not being interviewed at all.

In most cases, it isn’t illegal for a company to ghost a potential employee. If a business owner decides not to move forward with a potential job candidate, that is their prerogative. There are certain situations in which the individual may have a legal claim against the would-be employer.

In this article, we’ll explore and explain whether it’s illegal for a potential employer to ghost you. We will also discuss the differences between a company ghosting candidates before hire and ghosting them after the individual accepts a job offer.

If a company has recently ghosted you during the hiring process or after hire, and you feel like you’ve been deceived, consider speaking with a local employment attorney. Depending on your situation, you may have a claim for damages.

What Does “Ghosting” Mean in Terms of Employment?

What’s ghosting? In a job definition, it means that an employer brought you through the hiring process before ceasing all further communication. This is frustrating, but usually legal. Companies have the right to hire whomever they want to and are not required to follow up with everybody who submits an application.

The problem arises if the company extended an offer that you either accepted or were thinking about accepting, only to have the company suddenly stonewall you. For example, you see a job opening on LinkedIn and apply. The Human Resources manager interviews you and makes an offer. They give you until Monday of the following week to accept or reject the offer.

After considering the offer, you decide to take the job. The Friday before you accept the offer, you give notice at your current employer. They do not accept your notice and ask you to leave immediately. When you call the new company to formally accept their offer, you’re given the runaround. It doesn’t take long to realize that your job offer is no longer available, if it ever truly was. This is an example of a business illegally ghosting you.

Why Would a Potential Employer Ghost You During the Recruiting Process?

It’s hard to imagine why a company would, after several rounds of interviews, extend an offer to you and then refuse to return your phone calls. Why would their HR professional take the time to meet with you several times only to ghost you?

There are multiple reasons why a company may do this, including:

• They are trying to build up their talent pool of qualified applicants
• Administrative oversight or error
• A very high number of applicants
• Changes in the company’s internal hiring process or strategy
• Intentional recruitment strategy (i.e., first-come, first-served or talent acquisition)

Regardless of the reason, if you make it far into the hiring process, it’s normal and reasonable to expect the courtesy of either a phone call or an email. At a minimum, the human resources department should follow up with a status update, but they don’t have to. Since it isn’t against the law, some companies prefer to do business this way. While there are no federal anti-ghosting laws, there is legislation that protects job seekers from ghost job postings and unfair reporting.

Ghosting and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that protects consumers from inaccurate and unfair reporting. For the most part, this law applies to credit reports. For example, if a consumer fails to pay their mortgage on time for six months, their mortgage company will report their delinquency to the major credit reporting agencies.

While the FCRA primarily addresses consumer credit, it also applies to adverse employment reporting. When companies do a background check on a potential employee, they receive a detailed summary of the candidate’s public records, criminal history, and other personal information. If this information is incorrect or exaggerated, it will likely have an adverse effect on a job applicant.

Some job listings, especially in the financial field, require that you have excellent credit. If a credit reporting agency, such as Experian, reports that you have an automobile repossession on your credit report, it may raise a red flag for the employer. How upset would you be if it were actually from a credit report of a parent you share the same name with?

The negligent reporting on your credit report may be the primary reason the bank did not hire you. Since you attested to having good credit, the person you interviewed with no longer has any interest in speaking with you. Feeling that you were less than honest with them, they don’t deem you worthy of a reply and ghost you.

While you have no standing against the company that didn’t hire you, the error in your report may be actionable. According to the FCRA, you may have a legal claim against the reporting agency for providing inaccurate and damaging information about you.

The Impact of Adverse Action on a Potential Job Applicant

When things get serious with a potential employer, a background check is a common step taken to ensure that you are a good fit for their company. If there are negative things in your background, there is a good chance the company will find them.

There are cases in which an employer makes a hiring decision based on inaccurate information, such as in the above example with the bank. When a reporting agency provides inaccurate information that leads an employer to make a decision that is not in the applicant’s favor, someone must be held accountable.

If this happens to you, your best option may be to contact a local employment attorney. There’s no guarantee that you will recover compensation from either the employer or the reporting agency, but you can at least report what happened and try to get your record corrected.

Job Seekers’ Right to a “Pre-Adverse Action Notice”

According to the FCRA, if a potential employer makes an adverse hiring decision about an applicant, they must provide the applicant with a “pre-adverse action” notice. If they don’t, they are in violation of the FCRA.

The pre-adverse action notice must include the following:

• A copy of the applicant’s consumer report
• A summary of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA
• An opportunity to dispute any of the inaccuracies in the report

If the consumer does not dispute the issues within a reasonable time, the employer must send the applicant a final notice of adverse action, letting them know that the employer has made the adverse decision

If you do all of the above and the problem still persists, it may be time to speak with an employment attorney.

Accepting a New Job and Promissory Estoppel

When you receive and accept a job offer, you give notice to your current employer. You may even have to relocate for your new job. If your new employer then ghosts you, what next? Not only are you out of a job, but you may also have spent thousands of dollars to move to the new location.

If a company ghosts you after making an offer of employment, you may have a claim for damages. Even if you don’t have a contract with the new company, they may still be liable for any expenses you incur as a result of their actions.

There is a concept under the common law called “promissory estoppel.” This term refers to a person who takes certain actions in reliance on a promise and thereby incurs financial or other losses, such as reliance damages. As long as your attorney can prove that you incurred these losses as a direct result of promises your new employer made, you will have a good chance of prevailing.

Fraudulent Inducement of Employment After a Job Interview

In some cases, a potential employer lures a candidate away from their current position with promises of a job. If the employer does not live up to their offer, they may be liable for something called “fraudulent inducement of employment.” Just as with promissory estoppel, if you succeed in your fraudulent inducement case, you may collect damages for any losses you suffer as a result of the employer’s actions.

What if an Employer Ghosts You After You Start Working for Them?

Most cases of employers ghosting job applicants involve people who are hired, or believe they will be hired, only to never hear from the company again. There are also instances in which a new or current employee is mistreated by the company they are already working for.

While not exactly ghosting, this can involve situations in which a new employee is let go without receiving their paycheck, or shows up to work only to be told that they no longer have a position. This can be even more frustrating than being ghosted by a potential employer. In many cases, the victim suffers a greater loss than a mere job applicant.

Some of the cases that fall under this category include:

• Wage theft: When a company stops paying an employee
• Constructive dismissal: Making the job and/or conditions so unreasonable that the employee has no other option than to quit
• Breach of contract: Not honoring a signed contract

The types of damages (compensation) you can recover in the above cases depend highly on the facts of your case. It’s best to consult a local employment lawyer to determine whether you have a valid claim and what sort of damages you can demand.

Status of Anti-Ghosting Laws in Employment

There are currently no laws in the United States that make it illegal for a potential employer to ghost a job candidate. New laws are pending in several states that may change that.

Some of the pending legislation that addresses the increased prevalence of employers who are ghosting potential and current employees includes the following:

• Virginia (The Truth in Job Advertising and Accountability Act): The purpose of this law is to cut down on the number of deceptive job ads to protect people during job searches. This law would require companies to disclose a job’s status, the job’s salary range, the company’s intent to hire, and whether the hiring company will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to screen applicants.
• New Jersey, California, and Kentucky (Pending Anti-Ghosting Laws): Lawmakers in these states are targeting ghost jobs and the ghosting of job candidates. Like the above law in Virginia, these laws require that job postings include the following information:
  • Whether there are current vacancies for the posted job
  • Whether the company plans to use AI to screen job applicants
  • The expected salary range for the position

The hope is that these new laws will help people who are on a job hunt limit their job searches to companies that are actually hiring. With the current job market, it’s hard enough for many people to find worthwhile jobs in their chosen field. The last thing they should have to worry about is ghost jobs on the various job boards they visit.

Contact a Skilled Employment Lawyer Near You for Help

If you believe you have a valid claim against a former or potential employer, contact a local employment attorney for help. They’ll review your case and let you know if you have a valid claim. They will also help you pursue damages if they think your situation warrants it.