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 co

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.