Are Pre-Employment Misrepresentations Sufficient Grounds For Just Cause?

In the first episode of "Suits", Mike Ross induces Pearson Hardman to hire him as a lawyer despite never attending law school. With the help of partner, Harvey Specter, Mike misrepresents his employment credentials to the firm for a significant amount of time, until the lie begins to unravel over the course of the show.

While most employees do not misrepresent their credentials to the extent of Mike Ross, it is not uncommon for employees to misrepresent their employment credentials in the pre-employment relationship. Depending on the context, such a misrepresentation may allow an employer to terminate an employee for just cause. However, in certain cases, a misrepresentation at the pre-employment stage of the employment relationship will not constitute just cause, and thus termination may not be justified. In this article, we provide below examples from the case law where these issues have been considered.