Fired and employer went to prospective employer

[extremely upset]

what is the name of your state? south carolina
i went to my employer to let him know that I was applying for another job. he informed me he already knew and that he had been to the store where I applied and asked them what they thought they were doing recruiting his employees. he stated that the ***** had nothing to say. he then asked me when i wanted to leave and i told him that i would give him two weeks notice and he informed me that I could leave on sunday. i went back to work and he sent the manager down in a 30 minutes and i was to told to go to the office. i was told to turn my keys in and leave now. i went through 2 interviews with the prospective employee and did not get the job. the manager of the store was upset that my former employer questioned his assistant manager.
i signed up for unemployment and he is contesting it. Will and I be able to collect and did he have any right to appoach the manager of the other store?

 

[Beth3]

Nobody but an adjudictor with your State's UC office can tell you for certain whether you will be able to collect but under the circumstances you describe, I expect you will be able to.

Yes, the manager has the "right" to talk to the hiring manager and act like a big jerk. He didn't defame you - that is he didn't tell the other employer any lies about you in order to prevent them from hiring you - but I don't think anyone would endorse his behavior. It was a stupid and childish thing to do.

Since you didn't have an offer from the new employer, I don't know why you'd tell your current manager that you were applying for a position elsewhere. Most employers won't respond the way yours did but as you have experienced, it can be a risky thing to do. Generally speaking, it's best to wait until you have received and accepted an offer to tell your present employer about it.