proof in workplace defamation

[Roger G.]

There is a lot in what you have just said that can explain why you have not been hired yet.

Explanation?

 

[Roger G.]

I haven't even been able to get an interview.

If you are not being called for interviews it is 100% certain that your former employer/supervisor has nothing to do with it. That is a hard and fast guarantee that you can take to the bank.

If you were being called for interviews, being given reason to think that you were a viable candidate, and then consistently, after a reference check, turned down, then it MIGHT be an issue with your supervisor or employer, but even that would not be proof positive. But it costs money and time to run employment checks on candidates so employers simply do not run them until AFTER the interview process when they have identified their top candidates. They just don't. I don't care how small a field you're a part of, I've been a hiring manager hiring in positions where there might be less than a dozen people world-wide who have the skills we were looking for, and never once did we call for references before interviews. It just doesn't happen.

If you're not getting interviews, it's not because of your references.

I agree in general, but you don't know the relationship between my former employer and the other former employer (with whom I left on good terms) who recently declined to interview me for . It could very well have nothing to do with my recent experience, and it could very well be related because the 2 employers are related. I wasn't trying to imply all of my non-interviews are because of this experience. It isn't. Many of the rest can probably be attributed to my age, my specialized skills, etc.

 

[quincy]

Explanation?

You are in a small field with specialized skills that, according to you, only one employer in your area utilizes. That can make your job search a difficult one that has nothing to do with your reputation. It goes more to your experience and abilities. Other employers may not find you the ideal candidate for the jobs they are offering because they are not looking for your specialized skills.

I don't know if you have explored the Wisconsin "job centers" that assist the unemployed in finding employment. This might be something you can look into. Following are links to two centers, the Wisconsin Job Center Organization and the Job Center of Wisconsin, and your local unemployment center might have additional resources.

http://wisconsinjobcenter.org/
http://jobcenterofwisconsin.com/

As cbg noted, references from former employers are not checked until you have been called in for an interview and are being seriously considered for the job. It seems unlikely, therefore, that a defamatory reference from your former employer is what is causing problems in finding a new job.

Good luck.

 

[Roger G.]

You are in a small field with specialized skills that, according to you, only one employer in your area utilizes. That can make your job search a difficult one that has nothing to do with your reputation. .

Correct. That is also what makes the damage done by this so acute.

 

[quincy]

Correct. That is also what makes the damage done by this so acute.

With apparently only two employers in your area who have jobs requiring your particular skills, and with these two employers related to each other, and with one of the employers not all that fond of you (for whatever reason or reasons), it is definitely a tough position you find yourself in.

Again, though, defamation may not be playing much of a role in your failure to find another job.

You can still see attorneys in your area for a personal review of the facts and your options based on these facts. Perhaps the attorneys you see can connect dots that are hard to connect in a forum setting.

Good luck, Roger G.

 

[commentator]

Having been involved with career centers and working with people who are looking for work and involved with HR issues for more than 30 years, as is my spouse, I would honestly advise you to spend the money you might spend on an attorney to sue someone for libel (not even the actual employer, but a supervisor who works for that employer) in filing for disability.

I still cannot see any reasonable case for you to say you suffered damages above and beyond what you were compensated for by being approved for unemployment insurance. The agency determined that you were more believable than your employer concerning the reason for your termination. They decided you were out of work through no fault of your own. They believed you, NOT the employer who fired you. This vindicated you as much as you are likely to be vindicated.

I understand that those false allegations that were made about you at least six months ago may be burned into your brain and constantly on your mind, and that you may be convinced they are the reason your life is now ruined, but I am pretty confident in assuring you that thirty minutes after you left the job (and your unemployment case was investigated and approved) no one else in the workplace has given you or these false statements and accusations a thought.

And it is absolutely true that no one checks references unless they have already become at least semi serious about hiring you otherwise. If there is NO other place in your state or your area where you can work other than those where you have applied already and not been given an interview, then you must either find and accept some other job in another field, or you must move to where you can get a job in your specific field, or you should go on and begin the process of getting on disability. Suing someone in your former workplace for libel just isn't likely to produce much of of a satisfying conclusion, in my opinion. But please do shop several attorneys and be very cognizant of what they tell you and what they present as your chances. Don't just take the first one who says he'll do it for a certain sum of money. Good luck to you, perhaps you will be able to find a new direction without going back and camping on what has happened long since.

 

[quincy]

... If there is NO other place in your state or your area where you can work other than those where you have applied already and not been given an interview, then you must either find and accept some other job in another field, or you must move to where you can get a job in your specific field, or you should go on and begin the process of getting on disability ...

And, to add to this list by commentator, here is something you may not have considered previously but it might be something that is an appealing alternative for you: You could go back to school to learn and develop new skills in a field where employees are in demand.

In other words, as frustrated as you might be right now, and understandably so, there are several options for you to consider.

 

[Roger G.]

Having been involved with career centers and working with people who are looking for work and involved with HR issues for more than 30 years, as is my spouse, I would honestly advise you to spend the money you might spend on an attorney to sue someone for libel (not even the actual employer, but a supervisor who works for that employer) in filing for disability.

I still cannot see any reasonable case for you to say you suffered damages above and beyond what you were compensated for by being approved for unemployment insurance. The agency determined that you were more believable than your employer concerning the reason for your termination. They decided you were out of work through no fault of your own. They believed you, NOT the employer who fired you. This vindicated you as much as you are likely to be vindicated.

I understand that those false allegations that were made about you at least six months ago may be burned into your brain and constantly on your mind, and that you may be convinced they are the reason your life is now ruined, but I am pretty confident in assuring you that thirty minutes after you left the job (and your unemployment case was investigated and approved) no one else in the workplace has given you or these false statements and accusations a thought.

And it is absolutely true that no one checks references unless they have already become at least semi serious about hiring you otherwise. If there is NO other place in your state or your area where you can work other than those where you have applied already and not been given an interview, then you must either find and accept some other job in another field, or you must move to where you can get a job in your specific field, or you should go on and begin the process of getting on disability. Suing someone in your former workplace for libel just isn't likely to produce much of of a satisfying conclusion, in my opinion. But please do shop several attorneys and be very cognizant of what they tell you and what they present as your chances. Don't just take the first one who says he'll do it for a certain sum of money. Good luck to you, perhaps you will be able to find a new direction without going back and camping on what has happened long since.

I'm not sure why you think unemployment believed me and not my employer. My employer didn't claim to the Unemployment office that I was fired for gross misbehavior or law breaking which would have disqualified me. I was prepared for them to do so and I told unemployment to expect it but they didn't do it. I don't know what they said, but there was no fight over benefits.

 

[quincy]

I'm not sure why you think unemployment believed me and not my employer. My employer didn't claim to the Unemployment office that I was fired for gross misbehavior or law breaking which would have disqualified me. I was prepared for them to do so and I told unemployment to expect it but they didn't do it. I don't know what they said, but there was no fight over benefits.

That is an indication that your employer is not telling false tales about you, Roger G.

You might want to accept that there has been no actionable defamation. The privileged report about "threatening behavior" from your supervisor to your employer could have been discounted by your employer - and this seems more likely in that your employment termination did not occur until two months after the reported incident.

Please read through the postings in your thread and take from them what you find helpful.

Good luck.

 

[Roger G.]

That is an indication that your employer is not telling false tales about you, Roger G.

You might want to accept that there has been no actionable defamation. The privileged report about "threatening behavior" from your supervisor to your employer could have been discounted by your employer - and this seems more likely in that your employment termination did not occur until two months after the reported incident.

Please read through the postings in your thread and take from them what you find helpful.

Good luck.

They don't need to tell false tales about me to anyone else in order for this to have seriously harmed my ability to work in the state. The damage it did within the employer is enough to do that.

Anyway I think walking away from everything I've worked for for 20 years is my best course of action. I talked to the attorney again and got him to admit it will be a very hard case to win. Unfortunately the law in at-will states just doesn't protect people from the kind of devastating damage I have suffered. I've been abused, lied to, lied about, gone completely broke, and there's not a damn thing the law can do about it.

 

[cbg]

And as long as you remain convinced that there can be no possible explanation except your former supervisor poisoning the well, nothing is going to change, either.

 

[Roger G.]

And as long as you remain convinced that there can be no possible explanation except your former supervisor poisoning the well, nothing is going to change, either.

Yeah, whatever. You don't know the whole story and you don't know me but feel free to jump to conclusions about me anyway.

 

[quincy]

They don't need to tell false tales about me to anyone else in order for this to have seriously harmed my ability to work in the state. The damage it did within the employer is enough to do that.

Anyway I think walking away from everything I've worked for for 20 years is my best course of action. I talked to the attorney again and got him to admit it will be a very hard case to win. Unfortunately the law in at-will states just doesn't protect people from the kind of devastating damage I have suffered. I've been abused, lied to, lied about, gone completely broke, and there's not a damn thing the law can do about it.

First, no one is trying to jump to conclusions. We are trying to base what we write on what you are writing.

I think we all understand that you are frustrated by your circumstances, Roger G.. Any of us would be frustrated under similar circumstances. But, there is not a legal solution to all of life's problems, and I am afraid you might have run into one of those problems that does not have a legal solution - or at least a legal solution that would be easy to pursue with a decent chance of success (this based ONLY on what you have posted).

At first I thought you might have a defamation claim possible. I am seeing that possibility less realistic the more you disclose. But then, I have no idea what the supervisor said about you to your employer, or what the employer may have said to others. I think you are probably smart not to say too much on a public forum. I think you would be smarter to tell all to an attorney in your area of Wisconsin, where what you say will be privileged and where the attorney can better assess the facts leading up to your termination and what has occurred since your termination.

You have been given some advice and direction. I am not sure there is much more a forum can provide to you than what has already been provided. I wish we had some magic potion that could make your life easier but we don't (and, if we had such a potion, we probably would be using it ourselves ).

Good luck, Roger. You can see an attorney in your area for a review and to explore any legal options that the attorney sees might be available.

 

[Roger G.]

First, no one is trying to jump to conclusions. We are trying to base what we write on what you are writing.

I think we all understand that you are frustrated by your circumstances, Roger G.. Any of us would be frustrated under similar circumstances. But, there is not a legal solution to all of life's problems, and I am afraid you might have run into one of those problems that does not have a legal solution - or at least a legal solution that would be easy to pursue with a decent chance of success (this based ONLY on what you have posted).

At first I thought you might have a defamation claim possible. I am seeing that possibility less realistic the more you disclose. But then, I have no idea what the supervisor said about you to your employer, or what the employer may have said to others. I think you are probably smart not to say too much on a public forum. I think you would be smarter to tell all to an attorney in your area of Wisconsin, where what you say will be privileged and where the attorney can better assess the facts leading up to your termination and what has occurred since your termination.

You have been given some advice and direction. I am not sure there is much more a forum can provide to you than what has already been provided. I wish we had some magic potion that could make your life easier but we don't (and, if we had such a potion, we probably would be using it ourselves ).

Good luck, Roger. You can see an attorney in your area for a review and to explore any legal options that the attorney sees might be available.

Quincy I'm quite satisfied with most of the advice I've received and I'm quite satisfied that I have little chance in a defamation case at the present time. That could change, depending on what does or doesnt transpire.