Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania
Revoking a job offer
I am a small business owner.
Recently I made a verbal job offer to
a prospective employee, in which I
described in some detail the
responsibilities and compensation
associated with the position. I
explained that if this sounded
agreeable to her, I would forward via
email a ''contract outline'' for her
further review before having an
official contract drawn. She agreed
in principle to the terms I described.
I explained that my offer was more
generous than I initially planned
(because she was an exceptional
candidate), and that it was at the
absolute ''best I could do.''
After several days of reviewing the
contract outline, she emailed back,
saying that she would ''accept the
position''. But she followed that
statement up with an indication that
she was disappointed with several
terms of the employment and
suggested a (specific) higher salary.
I am very disappointed with not only
her response but also the tone of her
reply. I would like to revoke the
offer, because I would be
uncomfortable working with her at
this point.
Can I safely/legally do this? I know
she ''agreed'' to my offer, but it
seems she simultaneously gave a
counter-offer. Thank you in
advance.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Revoking a job offer
You asked about revoking a job offer.
A contract only is formed when there is a meeting of the minds (this is, of course a little more general the legal requirement). If an offer is not accepted as presented then it is a counter-offer which must be accepted or denied. She didn't accept your offer but rather made a counter-offer. Doesn't matter how she couched the language.
Sounds like you need a good business lawyer.
Regards,
Roger
(A business lawyer)