Seeking new employment after false accusations of SH

[firenech]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

Until a year ago, I was employed in a temporary contract that had the option of being extended. I was falsely accused of sexual harassment by a woman who had a history of attention-seeking behavior and possibly mental illness. I'm not asking about this.

My employer violated my due process rights and subjected me to a procedure that was anything but fair. The mental illness didn't come out until way after the resolution process was closed. I'm not asking about this.

My lawyers explained to me that my employer had violated of my rights, and gave me advice about possible causes for action.
I have also learned that my employer had a legal responsibility to conduct a fair, prompt and thorough investigation of the case. None of those conditions were met. I'm not asking about this.

Although I was cleared, my employer was pretty hostile, and they refused to re-hire me for subsequent years.

I am applying for other positions, but I am concerned that my former employer is bad mouthing me. I know that my colleagues are writing good letters of recommendation for me, but I am worried about what my employer is saying about me when they are contacted about my employment history.

What I want to ask about is:

1. Is there anyway for me to find out what the employer is saying about me? What I'm specifically worried about is whether they are disclosing the fact that I faced an allegation. This would be fatal to any attempt by me to locate another job in my field.

2. Assuming that they are saying nasty things about me, what are my legal options for getting them to stop?

 

[Proserpina]

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157914

It would probably be a good idea to not get as hostile with the folk here.

 

[firenech]

It would probably be a good idea to not get as hostile with the folk here.

Hi, I don't have any intention of being hostile. I didn't there, and I don't here.

I'm just looking for an honest answer, preferably by a lawyer who knows about Pennsylvania State law.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I am applying for other positions, but I am concerned that my former employer is bad mouthing me. I know that my colleagues are writing good letters of recommendation for me, but I am worried about what my employer is saying about me when they are contacted about my employment history.

What I want to ask about is:

1. Is there anyway for me to find out what the employer is saying about me? What I'm specifically worried about is whether they are disclosing the fact that I faced an allegation. This would be fatal to any attempt by me to locate another job in my field.

2. Assuming that they are saying nasty things about me, what are my legal options for getting them to stop?

I read the responses you received on the other forum and it appears you received excellent advice. I am not sure there is much of anything to add, so I can mostly reiterate what you've already been told.

As you were advised, one way to find out what your former employer is saying about you is to have someone you know call this employer, posing as a prospective employer, and ask the former employer for a reference.

Your former employer can legally disclose to any prospective employer that you faced an allegation of sexual harassment and that your contract was not renewed, because you did and it wasn't. Your former employer, however, should not be passing on any knowingly false information about you.

If your former employer is saying "nasty things" about you that are not defamatory, there is not much you can do about it. It may not be professional, but everyone has the right to express an honest opinion about a person, even if it is not a flattering one.

To avoid nasty opinions, you can provide on your job applications contact information for people from your old job other than your former employer, or, if the temporary job was not only temporary but brief, you can omit the job from all applications when listing work history (if this doesn't leave a major work gap that could be questioned).

If what is being said about you is false and reputationally injurious, there is a chance you could sue, but you would want all facts reviewed by an attorney in your area (perhaps the same attorney who handled the sexual harassment issue). You will need to determine if the facts can support a successful action. As a warning, however: If you sue your former employer, other employers are likely to become aware of this suit and this can affect your future job opportunities, perhaps more than one bad reference from one temporary employer.

 

[firenech]

I read the responses you received on the other forum and it appears you received excellent advice. I am not sure there is much of anything to add, so I can mostly reiterate what you've already been told.

Some of it was good advice, and I admit I completely misread one person's post. I thought they said something that they didn't. Basically, I thought that he was telling me off about the Hostile Working Environment. I thought that he was one of those "men can't be harassed" types. Suddenly, I was reliving what they put me through, and so I tried to terminate the conversation with him.

Granted, I dropped it in by fiat, but that's because I'd already received advice about that issue, and had been told that it was an HWE.

But I've had past dealings with one of the other posters, who basically took the opinion that I was guilty because I was accused, and I had to block them. I don't trust that person's opinion for a variety of reasons.

Some of the advice was wrong, though. Some schools have been sued by falsely accused persons (mostly students, but a faculty member should have greater cause for loss of reputation) for doing pretty much what my employer did to me. I could name two prominent examples, but it's really not relevant.

As you were advised, one way to find out what your former employer is saying about you is to have someone you know call this employer, posing as a prospective employer, and ask the former employer for a reference.

I've thought of that myself, but I have a question about it. Is it legal to pose as a perspective employer when I'm actually not?

One of the members finally did mention something about sunshine laws or FOIA requests. Do you know anything about these?

Your former employer can legally disclose to any prospective employer that you faced an allegation of sexual harassment and that your contract was not renewed, because you did and it wasn't. Your former employer, however, should not be passing on any knowingly false information about you.

But does that apply to letters of reference (I know that my referrers are writing good letters for me), or requests for employment records? And can they refer to the accusation without stating that I was cleared?

That's the thing that bugs me the most. Those two facts alone, put side by side like that paint a very awful picture. Without the rest of the facts, it kind of paints a false light (I realize that's a legal term, but I'm using it colloquially here).

If what is being said about you is false and reputationally injurious, there is a chance you could sue, but you would want all facts reviewed by an attorney in your area (perhaps the same attorney who handled the sexual harassment issue).

The problem is that he's a criminal defense attorney. He doesn't do employment law.

And I really don't want to sue. All I want is to be able to pursue my career free of this... dreck.

What do you think about cease and desist letters?

You will need to determine if the facts can support a successful action. As a warning, however: If you sue your former employer, other employers are likely to become aware of this suit and this can affect your future job opportunities, perhaps more than one bad reference from one temporary employer.

Yeah, that's another of the things that I'm afraid of. It is also why I didn't have the Security Guards arrested for breaking into my home...

thanks for the advice.

 

[Proserpina]

Ironically, the person with whom you apparently have had issues with in the past is one of the foremost experts on HR law in any legal forum.

Your loss.

That aside, a C&D has no legal bearing, really. It certainly does not legally compel someone to actually cease and desist. Only a court can do that. And even then? Good luck with enforcing it.

 

[Proserpina]

(Also, for context)

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140408&p=614445&highlight=#post614445

 

[firenech]

Ironically, the person with whom you apparently have had issues with in the past is one of the foremost experts on HR law in any legal forum.

I'll have to take your word for that.

 

[firenech]

(Also, for context)

Yeah, that's some of the back story. Not all of it, though. At that time, I didn't have all of the facts that I do now. I didn't know that this person had a history of mental illness.

But that's exactly why I was asking legal advice back then. At that time, all I knew was that the university had violated my due process rights, and I that there was something fishy about the allegations due to the complete mismatch between the questions that I was asked in the title IX interview and the actual facts. For example, she had obtained my phone number and started calling and texting me, but I had to answer some very uncomfortable questions about how I got her number (she sent it to me).

Which is one of the reasons why I didn't fight it more vigorously. She didn't seem to be involved in the actual process. It sounded like the complaint was generated by someone who was only observing things from the outside.

Quite frankly, my university handled the matter in the worst way possible, by violating every right that I had and by conducting a pretty sloppy investigation. This led to the worst possible solution. I lost my job, and she didn't get the mental health care that she needed (maybe she has now, I don't know).

She also stalked me briefly after my administrative leave was lifted.

And, in the end, what they told me was that I had acted inappropriately, but they didn't tell her that she had acted even more inappropriately (which she did).

 

[firenech]

(Also, for context)

Also, to complete the context:

At that time, I thought that the panel had found me guilty. They actually had declined to pursue the case. The provost sent me a rather unfortunate letter that heavily implied the opposite, but the internal report said that I hadn't violated any university policy (which I only found out about because the head of my department told me so).

There's a lot of confusion in that thread, mostly because the university failed to properly inform me of any of the nature of the charges against me.

 

[eerelations]

I'll have to take your word for that.

Why don't you take the word of the lawyer here who told you all the responses you received down the street are excellent?

 

[firenech]

Why don't you take the word of the lawyer here who told you all the responses you received down the street are excellent?

I'll take his word on it, but I did find one law review that was directly on point. It claims that, under current law, I do have cause of action if my employer disclosed the complaint to an unprivileged third party.

By the way, I apologize for what I said on the other site. I completely misread what you wrote, and it sounded offensive. I see now that you meant it in a different manner.

And when I sent you the PM's, my dashboard kept telling me that the messages didn't go through. After three tries, I apologized on the board itself.