Job Applicant Rejection Letter

This review list is intended to educate you about the document and to aid you in preparing it.

1. Employment law is a minefield of legal snares for business owners. The Employer bears a significant burden of evidence in establishing a lack of prejudice for a wide number of reasons. A brief review of the daily newspaper reveals the extent to which this type of lawsuit occurs, and the number of employers charged for these infractions and forced to settle or face court awards, including punitive damages.

1. Ensure that your employment policy is adhered to in its entirety to assist you in confronting discrimination and other allegations made by those rejected. The above letter is carefully worded to reject the candidate but not to notify them that another candidate was “hired” in their place or as a “better” competent candidate. If you accept that stance (i.e., a “more” qualified applicant was hired), you provide an opening for a plaintiff’s attorney to attack (e.g., “How was that candidate more qualified?”). And so forth. All of this might place you and the Company on the defensive as a plaintiff attorney attempts to trap you). Rather than that, this letter takes the kinder, more casual perspective that “circumstances” prevented the corporation from making an offer. It is critical to realize that courts have typically held that employers might make rash or erroneous decisions about employment practices. Simply put, courts determine that an employer cannot be discriminating. Thus, this light rejection letter, when combined with the offer to reconsider within 90 days and the candidate’s ability to reapply after that time period, alleviates the pain of the rejection and in no way disparages the job candidate’s qualifications or abilities.

1. Maintain an up-to-date file of Job Applicant Rejection letters. Remove the candidate’s records from your files after 90 days but keep the Job Applicant Rejection letter. By establishing this as a normal procedure and adhering to it, you will strengthen your position if you are sued by a previous job candidate. It is typically not in the Company’s best interests to retain any notes or recordings of other candidate talks, as these types of documents are subject to submission by your company in any job application lawsuit, including but not limited to this individual. As long as you maintain a file of Job Applicant Rejection letters, you will almost always be judged to have developed an acceptable record keeping system that will elicit no criticism from a court of competent jurisdiction.

1. Because these remarks are lengthier than the letter, they emphasize the need of keeping your attorney updated about your employee and employment practices on a timely manner. We cannot emphasize enough how an ounce of legal protection or well-being may spare you from having to pay a pound or more in legal fees to defend yourself and your business. Lawyers are most suited to assist you in anticipating such issues. Utilize them properly in this respect, and you will likely save yourself much time and money in the future. The law is increasingly considering employees as “stakeholders” in the businesses for which they work and even in those to which they just apply for job. As with any stakeholder or shareholder, it would be wise to use extreme caution in your dealings with them. If you accomplish this, you have satisfied the majority of the goals of the relevant legislation and laws: to behave equally, fairly, and without discrimination.

Job Applicant Rejection Letter

Dear __________________:

Thank you for meeting with us regarding the opportunity of working with our company. Unfortunately, our circumstances do not enable us to offer you a position at this time.

Your qualifications were impressive and we are sure they will assist you in getting a satisfactory job for you with another firm.

We wish you the best of luck in finding a position that will further your skills and experience. We will keep your resume on file for 90 days should our circumstances change and you be interested at that time in interviewing for any position that opens up that may be suitable for your talents and experience. If such an event occurs, we will contact you immediately within this 90-day period.

If you are interested in seeking a job interview more than 90 days from now, please recontact us again. Again our thanks for your time and efforts made to consider our firm for employment.

Best regards,

___________
Employer

Job Applicant Rejection
Review List

This review list is provided to inform you about the document in question and assist you in its preparation.

1. Employment law is full of legal traps for employers. A substantial burden of proof rests upon the Employer to prove a lack of discrimination for a wide variety of causes. A casual reading of the daily newspaper will indict how much of this kind of litigation goes on and the number of employers prosecuted for these offenses and made to settle up or have court awards, including punitive damages, assessed against them.

2. Make sure your employment policy is followed faithfully to help confront discrimination and other claims by those rejected. The above letter is carefully crafted to reject the candidate but not inform them that another was “hired” in place of them or as a “more” qualified candidate. If you take that position (i.e., a “more” qualified candidate was hired), it provides a place for a plaintiff’s attorney to attack (e.g., “Why was that candidate more qualified?” And so on and so on. All of which can put you and the Company upon the defensive as a plaintiff attorney tries to land you in a trap). Instead, this letter takes the milder more informal position that “circumstances” did not permit the company to make an offer. It is important to recognize that Courts generally hold that employers can be random or wrong headed in their decision making process regarding employment practices. Courts just find that the employer cannot be discriminatory. Therefore, this mild rejection letter, coupled with the offer to reconsider within 90 days, and offer the candidate the opportunity to reapply after the 90 day time period, takes most of the sting out of the rejection and certainly in no way disparages the credentials or competence of the job candidate.

3. Set up a Job Applicant Rejection letter file and keep it current. After 90 days, remove the candidate’s records from your files while retaining the Job Applicant Rejection letter. If you make this standard practice, and abide by it, you will enhance your situation should you be sued by a former job applicant. It is generally not in the Company’s best interests to keep any notations or records of other discussions of the candidate because these kinds of documents are subject to production by your firm in any job applicant litigation, including but not limited to this individual. As long as you keep a file of Job Applicant Rejection letters, you will usually be found to have established a reasonable record keeping system that draws little ire from a court of competent jurisdiction.

4. Since these notes are longer than the letter, they are suggestive of your need to keep your attorney informed on a regular basis about your employee and employment practices. We cannot state often enough that an ounce of legal protection or well care can save you from having to pay out a pound or more to defend yourself and your firm. Lawyers can best serve you in anticipation of problems such as these. Use them wisely in this regard and you should save yourself much trouble and expense in the future. The law is moving more and more towards treating employees as having expanded rights as “stakeholders” in the firms they work for and even those they simply apply to for work. Therefore, as with any stakeholder or shareholder, you are well advised to be scrupulously careful in your dealings with them. If you do this, then you have met most of the purposes of the statutes and laws in question: to act equitably, fairly, and in a nondiscriminatory manner.