Is an employer allowed to continually give bad references?
I was let go from a job and have been unable to find work since. There is no reason I should still be unemployed I am good at my job. I left a previous job to go to the one I was let go from and should have been able to go back to that job but when they called my previous employer I was turned down. I have had several interviews since and always get a thanks but no thanks answer. I do know thru one agency she tells people that I am unreliable and undependable. Just what exactly are employers allowed to tell when they are called for a referencce?
1 answer | asked Sep 21, 2011 11:10 AM [EST] | applies to Illinois
Answers (1)
To successfully sue for defamation, you would have to show that the former employer lied about a fact. For example if the employer told prospective employers that you were consistently late for work, but, in fact you had never been late for work. The phrase "unreliable and undependable" is not a statement of fact but a statement of opinion. What one person considers unreliable might not be unreliable to someone else. So, based on what you have said here, I don't believe you would be successful in a defamation suit. Again, if the former employer is lying about something, or if you have some kind of proof that the former employer really did not consider you unreliable and undependable, but was just saying this maliciously to hurt you, then you might have something. What was the reason you were let go?
posted by John Otto | Sep 21, 2011 12:24 PM [EST]
posted by John Otto | Sep 21, 2011 12:24 PM [EST]
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