Ex employer, Bad References

[Bear505]

I'm in the state of Georgia. In Dec 2002 my wife filed a complaint against her Office Manager, to the state supervisor. In the complaint, she listed, hostile work environment, unfair treatment, and certain policy offenses being committed by the office manager. When the state supervisor showed up, he conducted short interviews with the 3 office members, then stated to my wife that he had handled the situation and it wouldn't happen again. When my Wife said to him that she didn't think it was handled, and he was going to do it again, the state supervisor asked her for her resignation.

She has been turned down for Unemployment benefits because the state supervisor told the Dept of Labor that she quit. She hasn't been able to get a job, and we suspected that there might be some retaliation going on by the Manager. I had a person from my work place a call and ask for job references as if she was a perspective employer. She was told, (and we have on tape) when she asked about attendance that her attendance was poor, without provocation or leading, the manager stated that my wife has Crohn’s Disease, and it causes her to be absent from work. When he was asked if she left on her own, or if she was let go, the manager stated that there had been some problems in the office, and the state supervisor was called, when the state supervisor came down, she was asked to resign. (Remember, the state super reported to the Dept of labor that she quit)

My question is; Can an ex employer release information to prospective employers about medical conditions? And is there any recourse with the Dept of labor to at least allow Unemployment benefits now that we have proof of this on tape?

 

[cbg]

I was about to tell you that the DOL doesn't handle unemployment, but it appears that in GA they do.

If releasing information about medical information isn't illegal, it's at least walking the line. (It is NOT illegal for them to say that she had poor attendance if, in fact she did - it's possible that they thought they were making it BETTER for her by explaining that there was a medical reason for it. Of course I can't prove that's the case, but I know of some employers who think that way.)

If she's been turned down for unemployment she has the right of appeal. You can certainly inquire as to whether the tape can be admitted, but I would check with a local attorney about that. At least once source I looked at says that GA is a one-party state when it comes to taping, which would mean that it was not illegal to tape the conversation. That doesn't mean that the tape can be brought into the appeal hearing. Get a local opinion for that.

BTW, in the current economy, I'm not surprised that she hasn't found a job since December 2002. Most people are taking months to find jobs, and December is the worst month of the year to be looking. The fact that she hasn't found a new job as of January 2003 does NOT mean that the past employer is doing any retaliating.

 

[Bear505]

I'd like you to see the total complaint, (but it's too big to attach.)and all that we've gone through for the last 3 months. I can't believe that we're going to have to bend over and take it when these idiots did so much. If interested E-mail me at [email protected] I'd be happy to E-mail you all that we have.

Thanks

 

[Bear505]

I now have a link to a web site where I've posted the letter's written to the management of this company.

Please help...

http://bear505.myfoolmoon.com/custom.html