Fake Resume and Its Consequences

[timidguy]

Dear all,

A friend of mine told me that she provided fake resume about her working experiences. She asked about the consequences if her employer finds out and sues her. Will she landed in jail?
Well, it seems to me that it is not really a good way to write fake resume. However, she told me she is regretted but can't do anything.
As I am not expert in law, therefore I can't provide a good answer to her. Thus, I seek answer from expert here. Thanks.

[cbg]

She will not go to jail but she will almost certainly be fired.

[aaron]

Note also that if she is eventually wrongfully terminated, the résumé fraud may prevent her from collecting any damages.

[timidguy]

She will not go to jail but she will almost certainly be fired.

Thanks for your information. However, if her employer don't find it headache to sue her, will she go for jail or given high penalty?

[cbg]

She did not commit a criminal offense. Therefore there is NO chance that she will go to jail. There will be no involvement of law enforcement.

She can be fired; she likely will be fired. If the employer chooses not to fire her, any penalty she pays will be within the employment system - writeups, suspensions, demotions etc. No external agency will be involved.

[cyjeff]

And any future employers that call her current employer can be told "we fired her because she lied on her resume".

[timidguy]

She did not commit a criminal offense. Therefore there is NO chance that she will go to jail. There will be no involvement of law enforcement.

She can be fired; she likely will be fired. If the employer chooses not to fire her, any penalty she pays will be within the employment system - writeups, suspensions, demotions etc. No external agency will be involved.

Thanks for your information. However, I don't understand why there isn't any enforcement? As lying in the resume is a kind of fraud or even scam. Perhaps, I really don't understand the legal rules.
But I heard that some people created fake resume and got sued especially with fake education. Did you mean that fake working experiences is not an offense? I just wish to clarify as she is very worry and kept on asking me. Thanks and sorry for asking again.

[cbg]

Since there is no law saying it is illegal to lie on a resume, what are you suggesting should be enforced?

Yes, lying on a resume is fraudulent, but it's not ILLEGAL fraud since there's no law prohibiting you from doing it. An employer can fire you for it because they don't have to accept being lied to. But there's no criminal prosecution because there isn't any law that prohibits it.

If the employer suffers some form of damages because of the falsification, then they could sue, but they're not going to bother in most cases; they'll just fire the offender and be done with it.

Why are you so determined that she should go to jail?

If her employer discovers that she lied on her resume, she will probably be fired, and she may be found ineligible for unemployment since it's through her own fault that she was fired. Additionally, her employer can legally tell prospective employers why she was fired so she may have trouble getting another job. (Not to mention that interviewers will ask her why she left her last employer, and if she lies about it she's just back on the same old ride.)

But there is no outside agency that is going to take any notice of it.

[BOR]

Thanks for your information. However, I don't understand why there isn't any enforcement? As lying in the resume is a kind of fraud or even scam. Perhaps, I really don't understand the legal rules.
But I heard that some people created fake resume and got sued especially with fake education. Did you mean that fake working experiences is not an offense? I just wish to clarify as she is very worry and kept on asking me. Thanks and sorry for asking again.

There are very and extremely "limited" exceptions to criminal liability. One may be lying on an employment application to obtain security clearance to a sensitive government area or to be a government contractor, etc.

Another possibility would be lying on an employment application to secure a position for a child care center, when you have a felony record and say you don't.

You always "hear" the law out there, does not mean it is true or factual.

If Joe lies on his application to get a position at XYZ supermarket, and is caught, there is no criminal law that has been broken, it is an internal matter.

[gigirle]

If Joe lies on his application to get a position at XYZ supermarket, and is caught, there is no criminal law that has been broken, it is an internal matter.

Good example. Reminds me of say...Joe the plummer. He's not a licensed plummer. The union plummers went after him. Not illegal or criminal.... just public humilation.