wrongful termination? defamation of character?

[wrongfullyfired]

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

My friend was recently fired from his former employer, a very large company. It's an extremely long story, but basically, a new employee started working at the company and quit after one day. After a quick interview with HR asking everyone present during the day the employee was there about what happened, my friend and another employee were suspended with pay. When he asked under what grounds, they said pending further investigation. Two days later, he got a phone call saying he was terminated, without any explanation.

We contacted a wrongful termination lawyer immediately who asked that the company reinstate him, which they refused to even negotiate. They also tried to deny him of unemployment benefits, which they lost because the unemployment office said they had no evidence of his misconduct, only heresay evidence.

We dropped the issue of wrongful termination, however we still feel that the situation is unjust, we realize that they are a big company and because he was an "at will employee" they can basically fire him at any time for any reason.

The problem now, however, is that he has tried applying for several jobs and is turned down, not because he isn't capable of the work or is unimpressive, but because his former employer is giving bad recommendations.

I feel that this is incredibly unjust, even more so than the reason he was initially terminated for. Isn't this defamation of character? If so, what can be done about it? Does EEOC (equal employment opportunity council) handle these matters?

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[ecmst12]

A lot of people are having a hard time finding a job now. How do you KNOW they are giving a bad reference?

It is not illegal to be fired for something you didn't do. You can be fired for any reason or NO reason as long as that reason is not specifically prohibited by law. The termination was legal.

 

[wrongfullyfired]

Thanks for the response.

Unfortunately, we do know and understand that they can fire him for any reason and that the termination was legal. What the lawyer actually tried to do was go against them for age discrimination because my friend and the other employee that were fired were the youngest people working there and have been penalized for these types of things before for no reason other than age.

We know that they are giving bad references because a good friend works for one of the companies that he was applying to. He's high up in management and said that they were impressed with him but there HR department got a bad, detailed, reference from his former employer. This is now the second time this has happened. That have essentially black listed him from getting a job anywhere.

 

[quincy]

Any defamation action would depend on EXACTLY what is being said by your friend's ex-employer in the references he is providing to potential employers.

Your friend would need at least one person in a company where he has applied and been turned down for a job, the person in the company who is responsible for the hiring of employees, to testify to what was said by the ex-employer. The testimony of a "good friend" who works for one of the companies would not be enough.

If what the ex-employer is saying to potential employers is his "pure opinion" of your friend as an employee, and this opinion does not state or imply any false facts about your friend, there is no defamation action that can be pursued with any chance of success. Opinions are protected speech.

If, however, the ex-employer is passing on information to potential employers that is reputationally injurious to your friend, and this information has not or cannot be proven true (ie. unproven or false accusations of theft), then your friend has been defamed.

There can still be difficulties with any defamation complaint against the former employer, even if your friend is able to gather evidence that the ex-employer is relating false or potentially false information about him to others. Your friend may need to show that, without a negative reference, he would have or could have been offered the position for which he applied.

Have your friend consult with an attorney in Maryland, to see if there is any action available to pursue, or if any action against the ex-employer is worth pursuing.

 

[ecmst12]

Age discrimination is only illegal if it is against people OVER 40. Discrimination for being young is perfectly legal.

Defamation actions are very expensive and lawsuits take years to resolve. You could, however, pay a lawyer a couple hundred bucks to write a threatening letter to your former employer to "cease and desist" giving out bad references. That *could* take care of the problem.

 

[cyjeff]

Did your friend ever find out the REASON he was fired?

I notice that we still don't know this.

Age discrimination is not possible for the young.

 

[wrongfullyfired]

Thanks for all the advice! It is appreciated! I did not expect so much.

It was never actually stated by the employer to him why he was fired. They told the unemployment office that it was for unprofessional conduct, however they had no evidence and could not win their claim. It seems like something happened that was unprofessional but they could not prove who actually did something unprofessional so they picked two people to take the blame.

We would definitely consider paying a lawyer a couple hundred bucks to have them clear his name and stop giving him bad references. He was at the company for 10 years and it is the only job he has had so you can see how it would be a problem. He has never had any prior disciplinary actions with the company, not even verbal warnings, so this all kind of came as a shock, and now they are telling his prospective employees bad things.

 

[cbg]

Again, let me reiterate.

Bad reference are not illegal. Only untrue references are illegal. Before ANY legal action could be taken, you would need to know EXACTLY what is being said and even then, it's by no means a sure thing. If the reference is pure opinion, that is protected speech.