Recruiting While Downsizing
My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Illinois
Can an employer legally hire you while they are downsizing? Is it legal for a company to recruit and hire for a position that they will soon eliminate?
A company recently hired me and gave me a start day. I signed a contract with them that said that I would show up on a specific start date and that I am obligated to work my shift. However, the company called me and postponed the start day until further notice. They may or may not have me start at all.
I responded to an advertisement that I found in a local newspaper that said the company was indeed hiring people for jobs.
Re: Recruiting While Downsizing
Can an employer legally hire you while they are downsizing? Yes.
Is it legal for a company to recruit and hire for a position that they will soon eliminate? Yes.
Having been involved in a similar situation at one point, but from the other side of the desk, I feel compelled to point out that the hiring manager may have had no idea that there was about to be downsizing. In fact, even upper management may not have known for very long. Some years ago, I was in the position of having to rescind an offer of employment that I had sent out over my signature only two days before. Completely unbeknownst to me, and known only to the executives of the company for two days before that, we had quite suddenly and with no warning whatsoever lost our major source of funding. There was absolutely no intent to mislead the applicant; we sincerely intended the offer at the time it was made. The withdrawal of our funding was for external reasons unconnected with the management of the company and our funding source had not given us any prior notice.
It is unlikely that what you signed was actually a contract. You are free to show it to an attorney in your state and see if it is legally binding and enforceable, and if so what, if any, compensation you may be due. I think the odds that you are due anything are small; I think the chances that it was an actual contract are small as well. That doesn't mean you shouldn't check; just that I wouldn't bet the rent on it.
But no laws were violated.