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Has My Previous Employer Slandered Me?

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Florida:

:( From 1998-2000 I worked for a major high-line retailer. Just prior to leaving I had some choice words with my immediate supervisor and lost my composure and slammed a book down on the counter and while trying to get away from her bumped into one of the office woman who happens to be a close personal friend of the then manager. Some days later I was shocked when summoned into the manager's office, the manager claimed that the office woman, in not so many words, claimed I groped her or touched her. This office woman was morbidly obese and no doubt probably sensitive about her appearance. I explained that she was exaggerating. In the end I was to leave in 2 weeks and they allowed me to leave peace. Since then I feel I have been losing jobs that I thought were “in the bag". At first I dismissed it as the slowing economy since 2000, + have been told companies will not give references anymore either good or bad out of fear of being sued. :eek: I still have this nagging feeling there is something going on and this incident is the cause of it. I have gone on interviews and met the 2nd manager then never hear from them again, I can go on all day about similar occurrences. The "mafia" these women managers had at this particular store when this previous manager was there was legendary. To my knowledge neither of these women are with the company any more. How can I learn whether I am being slandered by this former employer. I was told when hired that should my next employer as for a reference all they will say is what I did for them and what they paid me. But I fear one of these women may have made some note in my file somewhere. I was totally innocent of what they accused me of and would swear to that under an injection of sodium pen Athol if necessary. How can I learn if they are slandering me?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The first thing you need to take into consideration is that we are in a very poor job market and that recruiters are receiving upwards of 300 resumes for every individual job opening. If you are having trouble finding a job, it's far more likely that the job market is the reason and not any "slander" by a former employer.

If you want to find out what your former employer is saying in a reference check, there are reference checking services out there or you can ask a trusted friend to call, pretending to be a former employer.

Now, here's your reality check. By your own admission you engaged in some unprofessional behavior just prior to leaving. An employer is permitted by law to say anything in a reference check that is true or their honest opinion. Since it is true that this happened, IF (and I am not saying I think they are - just IF) they were to tell a prospective employer about your behavior, slamming the book down and so forth, it would NOT be slander and if you failed to get the job because of it you would NOT have legal recourse.

Even if they did mention the other woman, it would depend on EXACTLY what they said. Since it is a fact that the woman complained, it would not be slander if they said that they received the complaint. "We received a complaint, which was not verified, of his touching a co-worker inappropriately; we have no reason to believe it was true" is not slander. "He sexually harassed a co-worker" might be.
 
I agree But

Thanks for the input. Bear in mind the argument I had with the supervior was minor. I slammed my Day Planner on the counter and huffed off, frustrated with her verbal abuse. it was not a major fight . Another point this office woman was a very close personal friend of the then manager. Which is why I think she barely gave me a chance to tell my side of the story and what happened. At the time I was leaving and thought no more of it. But once I got to California in March 2000 things began to happen that made me nervous. For example would go on one interview was told I was just what they were looking for then met the 2nd manager, then was invited to lunch by someone else at the company then I would never hear from them again and they would not return my calls. At the time I dismissed it as the economy even though it was still strong in California at the time. This was one company but the story if fairly typical of my job search out there. What are these reference checking services? Where can I find one?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I have never used one and don't know which ones are reputable and which are not. All I can tell you is that they exist; you can try typing "reference checking" into your favorite search engine and see what happens.
 

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