Employers Rescinding Job Offer Must Document or Risk Bias Claims

Businesses mulling whether to revoke employment offers in response to inflation and rumblings of a looming recession may have to tread carefully to avoid running into severe legal and reputational consequences.

Coinbase Global Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Twitter Inc. are just some of the high-profile employers that recently have rescinded job offers at the same time that a growing number of companies are announcing layoff plans or dialing back recruitment efforts.

Federal law allows employers to rescind job offers for almost any reason as long as it’s not based on an applicant’s race, gender, or other protected factors. Some ...