I was hired by this contractor and had to submit an eQuip…almost 9 months later of sitting in training waiting for our interim clearance 6 of us were let go the same day all at once and were told that we were denied the interim clearance and we were not given any explanation as to why…I’ve talked to FSO, HR, and the director of HR and no one has any answers and they actually try to brush me off…so I decided to conduct my own investigation to try and ge some answers…so far what I found is…they (company) want the 6 of us to sign a new acceptance letter which states that we would be terminated if we don’t obtain an clearance of any level…which in the original acceptance letter it didn’t have any mentioning of obtaining a clearance to maintain the job…also we’re told that we have to sign these letters in order to keep our Open Investigation ongoing…but the letter doesn’t state that either…also when I contacted OPM the first agent I spoke with said that the denial was not sent from them…so I contacted the group of trusted agents that the company used and was told the same thing and also that this could have been a financial reason from the company because they got tired of the waiting and didn’t want to keep paying us for basically nothing…is the normal practice for companies and is it legal?
It does sound like somebody brought you on with a signed offer letter not giving them the backdoor termination ability. If you are in a right to work state…they need no reason. But they want to be as legally secure as possible. I would understand if a job required the clearance and if I did not get it I was not eligible. But in the mean time I would work like a dog to show the company I am worth retaining in an uncleared position. It might be worth spending money for an employment lawyer consultation. But turning this into a confrontation with the employer would not seem to be A: a place I want to work, and B: likely not a nice place if I won my case. If they are professional they will explain. If they are not…you get treated as you described.