Dr. Mark's Delusions: When Assuming Can Lead to a Self-Inflicted Nightmare
In today's story, Dr. Mark learns the hard way that you should never quit a job without a signed offer from another employer, especially when a lifetime of burning bridges leaves you with nowhere to turn for assistance.
Think back for a moment to when you were a little boy or girl, out shopping with Grandma, and you saw a toy that you wanted. But she said, in a sweet, loving tone, "Honey, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."
Then she explained what that meant: "Wishing for things does not make them happen."
I am modifying that saying slightly as a way of leading into today's story: "Assuming things that are not yet concrete, not yet real, and relying on those assumptions can be a one-way ticket into a nightmare that you have created for yourself."
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"Dr. Mark" is living that nightmare today, desperately reaching out to anyone who will listen, seemingly unaware that he burned all helpful bridges years ago.
The letter
In early September, emails with a letter attachment were received by a number of civil attorneys in a midsize West Coast city with the subject line: Possible Employment Discrimination/Withdrawal of Employment after Credentialing Approval.
In summary, the letter stated that the sender, Dr. Mark, was seeking legal advice "regarding a situation involving a medical position for possible unlawful discrimination or other wrongful conduct."
He wrote, "I was approached by a locum tenens company and interviewed with the medical director, who indicated he would be happy to have me join the clinic. The credentialing process led to a confirmation letter that the hiring committee had approved my status as a participating provider." (A locum tenens company in healthcare oversees providers who temporarily fill in for other healthcare professionals.)
However, communications from the company did not specifically state that he was being offered a job. And this is where Dr. Mark — who, at over 70 years of age, has worked for a variety of medical clinics — did something that no lawyer anywhere would have recommended.
"I relied on the expectation that I would be able to proceed with the position," he wrote. "Because of my understanding of restrictions concerning outside employment, I resigned from my existing position."
One week later, he said, the clinic sent him this note: "Leadership has pushed back, and we cannot move forward with your employment." No specific reason was given.
"While I have no proof," he continued, "I am concerned that the decision may have involved age discrimination, ethnicity discrimination or another reason, and I would like an attorney to investigate this." (For the record, Dr. Mark’s ethnicity is not part of a protected class.)
He added, "I resigned from my existing employment in reliance on this opportunity. My former employer will not take me back. Does my reliance create any potential claims for damages?"
An opinion from a labor and employment law attorney
Southern California labor and employment attorney — and a longtime friend of this column — Jay Rosenlieb provided this analysis: "Until you've got a job offer signed by the employer, and you've also signed it and sent it back, there is no deal.
"The offer can still be withdrawn at that point, with no liability to the prospective employer if the employer has done what we recommend to all of our clients."
Rosenlieb went on to describe what an employer should state in writing, that you are being offered a position:
- At a specific rate
- At a specific location
- With a specific start date
Additionally, the employer should include that your employment, where appropriate, is subject to:
- Passing a physical
- Passing a drug screen
- Passing a credit check
- Passing a background search, which includes a criminal background check
Rosenlieb added this warning: "Several states, in an effort to prevent discrimination against people with criminal records, have passed Fair Chance Acts. Employers need to be aware of how these laws impact criminal background checks."
Until you have a job offer in writing, do not quit your job
Rosenlieb added, "Dennis, in your recent story about a woman who wanted to put magnetic signs on her car, assuming the manufacturer and dealer were committing consumer fraud, you explained perfectly the danger of assuming facts that had not been proven.
"It is the same thing here with Dr. Mark. He has blended pieces of evidence that, in his mind, equate to having been offered a job, and relying on that logic, he did the worst thing possible by quitting his present employment."
Rosenlieb pointed out, "Now he wants to blame everyone, seeing himself as a victim. That is not going to fly."
Why would the locum tenens group suddenly just stop the process?
Dr. Mark apparently has a history of burning bridges and, to put it politely, not knowing when to remain silent. I learned that when he was at a teaching hospital, his residents loved and stood up for him when he was faced with being fired.
I met with several of them, who were in tears at the thought of losing this brilliant, gifted teacher. However, the many nurses he had embarrassed and yelled at also were in tears, but of a very different sort.
Dr. Mark never learned to listen when someone tried to talk to him about this, and he would never apologize.
I have no way of knowing what the clinic's background investigation turned up, if anything, but this issue made me feel sad for Dr. Mark.
I emailed him, "What a pity, someone with your level of education, a brilliant physician and teacher adored by your residents, and yet, one problem after another, always the fault of someone else.
"There is a common denominator here, and it has nothing to do with discrimination. Rather, blindness and judgment. Take a good, long look in the mirror."
He replied, "I looked at the mirror, and an old ugly face stared back at me."
The first moral of the story is something that Grandma might have also said: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
The second moral of the story: Be kind to others, especially on the job, and think long and hard when you're finding that it's always someone else's fault when something goes awry. It might not be them at all.
Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@gmail.com. And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com.
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