Threatened with lawsuit by former employer

[auntnana21]

Tn. My job was eliminated May 1 due to reorganization. I have not had contact with them since. I was given a nice severance package and was lucky enough to find immediate employment. Today I received a certified letter from them stating that I was in sole posession of and refused to disclose network passwords and needed to turn them over via email or they would pursue all legal remedies at law. Whattha? I have been solely focused on my new career and three months later honestly and truly do not remember the passwords. Can I really be sued three months after leaving a job for not remembering a password? I was never asked for these before so I never refused to turn them over. Why they wouldn't just reset passwords I don't know. Do I just send them a letter stating I don't remember? I'm certainly not sending anything via email.

 

[quincy]

Tn. My job was eliminated May 1 due to reorganization. I have not had contact with them since. I was given a nice severance package and was lucky enough to find immediate employment. Today I received a certified letter from them stating that I was in sole posession of and refused to disclose network passwords and needed to turn them over via email or they would pursue all legal remedies at law. Whattha? I have been solely focused on my new career and three months later honestly and truly do not remember the passwords. Can I really be sued three months after leaving a job for not remembering a password? I was never asked for these before so I never refused to turn them over. Why they wouldn't just reset passwords I don't know. Do I just send them a letter stating I don't remember? I'm certainly not sending anything via email.

Yes, you can just send them a letter stating you don't remember any of the passwords. You could suggest in your letter that they reset all passwords, which seems a bit of a no-brainer for them to have done anyway.

Send your letter certified, return receipt requested, and keep a copy of the letter for yourself.

If you are sued (and based on what you have written here, a suit seems unlikely), you should consult with an attorney in your area for a review of the facts and for help answering the complaint.

Good luck.


(as an aside: You and several other new posters in the last two days apparently have been having difficulty adding content to first threads and have felt the need to start a second thread. Can you let us know what problem you had with posting content to your original thread? Thanks.)

 

[auntnana21]

Had my former employer contacted me nicely I might have tried to remember or help out. Their threat to sue just ticked me off. If they sued, how would they ever be able to prove what I can and can't remember? And why wait 3 months? This just seems really asinine.
I had to post twice because my message was not showing after submitting.

 

[HighwayMan]

Sounds like a situation where you had setup some networks or were a network administrator who was the only one who knew certain passwords and when you left you failed to turn them over to your successor.

How long were you employed there? Is it possible there was some employment agreement that you signed when hired specifying your duties upon leaving employment?

 

[quincy]

Had my former employer contacted me nicely I might have tried to remember or help out. Their threat to sue just ticked me off. If they sued, how would they ever be able to prove what I can and can't remember? And why wait 3 months? This just seems really asinine.

It does seem odd that your former employer would wait three months to contact you. I am surprised that, if the passwords were necessary, they did not have you turn over the passwords prior to you leaving.

Did your former employer say that they were experiencing problems accessing their network or with someone else accessing their network?

I had to post twice because my message was not showing after submitting.

Thanks for answering my question on this. The forum had difficulties awhile ago with content not showing up when people used the "preview post" feature before submitting their message. When the preview feature was used, posts disappeared instead of posting. I know that the preview feature was disabled because of the problem - but perhaps it is available again and the problem has returned. ? At any rate, thank you for not giving up on us after your first thread.

 

[auntnana21]

I was there for 15 years but given only 30 minutes to clear out my office. I was asked for my keys and ID and that was it. I really wasn't thinking about passwords at the time and found another job so quickly I just never gave it any thought. I was the administrator for the network for my building but they have an entire IT department that should have no issues resetting passwords. The letter didn't say anything other than I was in sole possession and needed to turn them over. It just seems weird.

 

[auntnana21]

And there was NOTHING in my 1 page employment contract as I was originally hired as a secretary. These network duties were thrown on me in later years.

 

[Proserpina]

I'm almost tempted to invoke the Wells Report.

Timing, context, all of that good stuff.

 

[quincy]

... I was there for 15 years ...

Huh? Last October you resigned from a job you held for 12 years. The most you could have worked for this latest company is 7 months.

I think I understand your reference, Proserpina. Fortunately there were not 243 pages to read.

 

[auntnana21]

I resigned but was asked to come back within the month after my boss at the time was arrested for fraud and immediately terminated. I was with the company a total of 15 years. 3 in one department 12 in another. Not quite sure what bearing that has to do with the legal advice I am seeking. It's nothing shady or evasive. The company is going through major restructuring. My department and 2 others were dissolved eliminating 11 jobs. We were all notified and given 30 minutes to get out on a Friday afternoon. I was given a good severance package and great references. Went to work for a new company not 2 weeks later and never looked back. Then I got this letter and came here for advice. Is it just too boring of a question that there just HAS to be more to the story?

 

[quincy]

I resigned but was asked to come back within the month after my boss at the time was arrested for fraud and immediately terminated. I was with the company a total of 15 years. 3 in one department 12 in another. Not quite sure what bearing that has to do with the legal advice I am seeking. It's nothing shady or evasive. The company is going through major restructuring. My department and 2 others were dissolved eliminating 11 jobs. We were all notified and given 30 minutes to get out on a Friday afternoon. I was given a good severance package and great references. Went to work for a new company not 2 weeks later and never looked back. Then I got this letter and came here for advice. Is it just too boring of a question that there just HAS to be more to the story?

Well, there apparently was more to the story.

Again, you can write a letter. I doubt they will sue you over not remembering passwords. Good luck.