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If you apply for a job and lie about what you put there, the business can sue you for civil and criminal reasons. It is called resume or application fraud. So

If you apply for a job and lie about what you put there, the business can sue you for civil and criminal reasons. It is called resume or application fraud. So padding and stretching the truth of what you have actually done can get you twisted up legally if the company feels like pressing charges. The business can also sue you for all the time the different employees put into interviewing and training you, back pay (you pay them back what they paid you) their side of the taxes and benefits they paid on your behalf and many more things). Also note, if you put a university on your resume that you never attended or graduated from that university could sue you for fraud if or when they found out about it. It would be even more severe if this was for a government contractor or agency, as you sign legal documents saying everything listed is truthful. Depending on the job they will actually send an investigator out to everyone and every job you listed and you could get caught up legally before you even start your first day of work. There is no reason to lie on your resume, would you like for your employer to lie to you in the job application? My advice is to always be truthful on your resume as once you start lying you may find yourself in a job where the lying can only get you so far and you end up in a position above your capabilities and your friends, family and coworkers will find out about it and you would eventually be publicly reprimanded or even blacklisted from your industry.

trcollinson 9y ago
First, I am not a lawyer and what I am about to state is in no way legal advice. Second, I generally agree with your statements. With that being said, a few comments. In the United States the legalities of this would fall under fraud. The legal basis for the criminality of fraud differs from state to state and depends on how you commit the fraud. It isn't safe to give a blanket statement that lying on a resume is illegal or fraudulent. Additionally, the penalties are based on a number of factors. My opinion, and only my opinion, is that at best an employer would only be able to civilly sue you for the damages of your fraudulent behavior. Additionally, legally, they have a burden to complete due diligence on applicants just as they do with many other things. This is mostly theoretical as a quick search of Lexus Nexus does not bring up many employment related fraud cases at all. The exception seems to be when credentials are fraudulently represented (for example, a PHD that does not exist). However, I could not find one case that went criminal even in the instance of fraudulent credentials, nor could I find a case that wasn't settled before a trial.

trcollinson 9y ago

First, I am not a lawyer and what I am about to state is in no way legal advice. Second, I generally agree with your statements. With that being said, a few comments. In the United States the legalities of this would fall under fraud. The legal basis for the criminality of fraud differs from state to state and depends on how you commit the fraud. It isn't safe to give a blanket statement that lying on a resume is illegal or fraudulent. Additionally, the penalties are based on a number of factors. My opinion, and only my opinion, is that at best an employer would only be able to civilly sue you for the damages of your fraudulent behavior. Additionally, legally, they have a burden to complete due diligence on applicants just as they do with many other things. This is mostly theoretical as a quick search of Lexus Nexus does not bring up many employment related fraud cases at all. The exception seems to be when credentials are fraudulently represented (for example, a PHD that does not exist). However, I could not find one case that went criminal even in the instance of fraudulent credentials, nor could I find a case that wasn't settled before a trial.