Legal Question in Employment Law in California
New Hire Rights - Offer Apparently Recinded
Student friend interviewed w/ large SF dept store for minial work in kids dept. Was interviewed, offered job & completed some paperwork ( including application clearly stating unavailable Tues&Thur). Unexpecting to get a same day/immediate offer, friend didn't have SS card ( I-9) on day 1.
Mgr scheduled friend to train in day 2. Friend reported, but mgr absent. 2d mgr set up training & worked for full day. Works another day ( hiring mgr absent again).
Hiring mgr returns stating ''we have a problem''. Seemingly recinding offer with statements of ''we really didn't hire you since you didn't have SS card'', & ''though you say you worked, i don't know that since there's no punch records.'' Friend had not been issued a punch card & was advised by others to document hours + several witnesses to the fact
Finally, hiring mgr said ''if you're unavail for tues/thu ...then you need to reconsider about working here''
Seems mgr screwed up ( on making an offer) & is back tracking to undo & confuse my friend to thinking everything was tentative, or alternatively non-compliance w/ I-9, and denial that she actually worked hours & is intimidating my friend to think she has no right to pay or to the job.
any thoughts?
thanks
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: New Hire Rights - Offer Apparently Recinded
Company should not have even brought him in for training if it hadn't received a properly completed I-9. But, they still have to pay legal minimum wage for the hours worked. Not having an I-9 completed is the employer's penalty, not the employee's. But, that's about the only remedy your friend has. They don't have to keep employing him. So, if they're not willing to keep him employed, he should at least demand that they pay up for the training time or he'll take them to the labor board. He might point out that the US Dept. of Labor won't be happy, either, if they find out that the company is utilizing incompletely documented workers. The asst. mgr is a witness here, so the punch cards are irrelevant to the pay issue.