Legal Question in Employment Law in North Carolina
Breach of Contract?
My fiancee was employed by company A. She quit due to defamation of character, and slander on the part of her supervisor. She was then invited back to the company, and given a job offer and a start date in a different group. She accepted. The following Monday they retracted the offer, because they said it was not going to work having her sitting next to her old supervisor.
Can this employer be held accountable on several different issues? I would think it was a breach of contract, as well as, a promissory estoppel. Also the initial allegations of slander have not only been caused by this company, but in essence have shown the effect of the slander, by inhibiting her ability to gain employment, based on the prior allegations. Now her chances of promotion with the current employer are slim to none, because they think she will change jobs on them, because she gave 2 weeks notice after being hired.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Breach of Contract?
It probably requires more facts to fully answer this question. In a nutshell, however, if the employer slandered or libeled your fiancee, she should have a cause of action for those damages. Regarding her employment situation, NC is an "employment at will" state, and therefore one generally cannot sue for being terminated (absent prohibited discrimination). One recognized exception, however, is where the employee has acted in reliance on the employer's job offer. (Sort of like your reference to "promissory estoppel.") In your case, it seems that you fiancee acted in reliance on the offer, by giving her notice to the subsequent employer. This might state a strong claim if you fiancee wanted damages on simply not being hired; it seems, however, that you're inquiring about damages at the subsequent job (in terms of advancement e.g.), which seems too speculative to be recoverable.
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