In a
recent lawsuit which a legal recruiter with 31 years experience by surprise, an
employee sued the recruitment agency Caldwell & Associates Inc. alleging
that the recruiter made false employment promises.
In his petition, filed in Dallas
County Court-at-Law No. 1, Gilbert alleges the "promises Caldwell made
were false" and that he "later learned that Caldwell was on retainer
from Patton Boggs to find lateral partners with business." [See the petition.]
Gilbert's causes of action
include negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract and
he seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as costs and attorney fees.
Gilbert,
now a partner in Bryan Cave in Dallas, alleges that Caldwell failed to disclose
they were on retainer with Patton Boggs and promised that he would be made the
practice leader in Dallas if he accepted Boggs’ employment offer. However, when
Gilbert was hired, no such opportunity came to fruition.
For
their part, Caldwell & Associates has denied that they were on retainer
with Boggs and that they made any promises that Gilbert would become practice
leader. However, the lawsuit is a reminder to legal recruiters that they can be
sued by job candidates if they are not 100% truthful in what they say. Legal recruiters
must make sure they fully disclose their interests. If you are on retainer for
a firm, or if you are their in-house recruiter you must disclose that to the job
candidate. Also, make sure that you accurately promote the job for which you’re
recruiting. Don’t mention possible promotions or raises unless you know for a
fact that this is something that will happen. If a job candidate takes a job
because they believe that they will be promoted in a few months or get a raise
because of something a recruiter promised, that recruiter could face a lawsuit
if that promise does not materialize. To find out more about “truth-in-hiring” lawsuits
visit: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/154005369.html.
(source: http://www.lawjobs.com/newsandviews/LawArticle.jsp?id=1202500734593&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1)