I have a family member who had a steady full-time office job in Los Angeles. He wanted a change of pace, so he reached out and got recruited by a well-known transportation company who offered him a position as a long-haul driver.
He already has a commercial driver's license from California, but it's been about 8 years since he last drove professionally, so they said he needed a "refresher course". This course is offered and mentioned on their website. So the he and the recruiter reached an agreement:
- Course is 1-week long
- It would cost him $1,400
- Takes place in Arizona
- Starts on May 9th
These details were discussed over the phone, but there are also e-mails from the recruiter, and corroborated on their website.
With these dates agreed upon, he quit his job and his last day was April 29th. He took the next few days off, and when he reached out to go get his physical exam he got nothing but silence from the recruiter. He called, e-mailed, and texted all week long, and didn't hear anything. On May 10th (the day after he was supposed to start training) they finally contacted him to tell him that they cannot offer him the "refresher course", but he'd have to take the full commercial drivers' license training course. This course is:
- 4-6 weeks long
- Costs $7,000
- Also in Arizona
- Start date unknown
So now he has been unemployed for 2 weeks, looking to pay 5x more money, and spend 6x more time. He cannot take this new offer because he would go broke before the course is completed. If the recruiter hadn't made an unfulfillable promise, he would’ve simply kept his steady job.
Is there any type of California labor law that would allow for him to ask for compensation for lost wages? If so, what kind of lawyer should we look for to get advice?