xeno_cratus
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« on: October 01, 2008, 02:20:37 PM » |
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Faculty at my institution are up in arms because a letter of offer to candidate for a visiting professorship, extended by a dean without the knowledge of the higher admin, has been abrogated by the latter, who have declined to send the candidate a contract.
Question: What is the status of such letters? If signed and returned, as appears to be the case here, do they have contractual status? Are they easily, or commonly, revoked?
Is this a big deal, or does it happen all the time?
Many thanks for your comments.
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sibyl
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« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2008, 03:44:36 PM » |
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First, the minor issues. An offer letter is not a contract, and a good lawyer can draw the distinction. It is possible that a good lawyer for the other side could argue that the letter represents the institution and the prospective hire made arrangements in good faith on that basis, but it would be very difficult to recover anything other than actual damages -- for example, if the individual paid a deposit to a moving company, that's an actual damage, but the harm of pulling oneself off the market (even if it's only for a few days) is not.
The major issues are all about trust and autonomy. It's not a great situation when the decision of the faculty is contravened. On the other hand, the dean does not have license to operate contrary to established procedures; if deans do not have the authority to extend offers without approval from the provost, and the provost has not given that approval, then the university is entitled to rescind or withhold the offer.
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"I do not pretend to set people right, but I do see that they are often wrong." -- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
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stitch
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« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2008, 03:50:45 PM » |
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I would say that it's a valid offer, from the perspective that a Dean is assumed to have authority to make such offers.
HOWEVER, it's likely that the offer letter did not contain sufficient detail to make it a full contract. That is, assuming you are in an at will employment state, it's pretty hard to force an organization to follow through on an offer if they change their mind.
If the VP took actions relying on that offer, like putting a deposit on an apartment in new town that they will now forfeit, they should at least try for compensation from the U. They would have a reasonable chance winning such a case in court, but it probably wouldn't be worth the stress and lawyers fees.
Note: I am not a lawyer, this is just based on a very basic contract law class and my life experience of such situations.
On preview, yeah, what Sibyl said.
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neil9
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« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2008, 09:10:45 PM » |
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This thread got me concerned. I recently accepted a new position. All I have is a signed offer letter from the Dean that spells out the rank, salary, starting date and responsibilities. Do I miss a contract?
I have not had any reason to worry so far because my name and title is starting to appear in new place's documents even before I start the job.
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sibyl
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« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2008, 04:05:31 PM » |
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All I have is a signed offer letter from the Dean that spells out the rank, salary, starting date and responsibilities. Do I miss a contract?
It depends on the institutional practice. At some institutions, that letter is itself a contract. At others, it is not. The best thing to do is to check with someone besides the Dean -- HR, or the head of the Faculty Senate, or the President's Office -- to find out whether a contract is usually tendered and, if so, when. (If contracts for 09-10 are not generally issued until February 1, 2009, then the offer letter could be construed as the most binding agreement available.) |
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"I do not pretend to set people right, but I do see that they are often wrong." -- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
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xeno_cratus
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« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2008, 10:29:33 AM » |
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Many thanks to Sibyl and Stitch for their helpful comments.
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aandsdean
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« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2008, 10:59:51 AM » |
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Several things here:
1. The dean should be fired. If a dean here did this (which none would, I'm pretty sure), the president and I would have them gone in minutes.
2. As others have said, some schools have contracts and offer letters, while at others the offer letter constitutes the contract. IF--IF--at this school the normal practice is for offer letters to stand in for contracts, that would be nice terrain for a legal complaint, even if the dean doesn't actually have offering authority. However, if the letter says "pending the approval of the VPAA" or something like that, it's all over anyhow, unfortunately.
3. It's clear that the administration at this institution sucks, regardless of any other factor. What is a dean doing not consulting the VPAA/Provost on this kind of matter? Or is the provost lying? I'd probably hire the person for a year as long as there were funds available, which might well happen as a result of a newly-vacant dean position.
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