Referral Sabotage

I was working in a large law firm called FRG where my direct supervisor and I did not get along. I did my job and voiced my opinion to her boss about her horrible attitude. Her boss promised to relocate me to another part of the firm, knowing that I was indeed a hard worker. After having an interview with another department supervisor, I was sent to the office manager and told that the switch would not work because it would make the firm look bad. He said, however, that if future reference calls were made to the firm, they would state that I elected to resign due to unknown reasons. Four months after leaving the firm, I had an interview with another firm called CM. CM conducted a refernce check and told me that they were uninterested in hiring me because my previous employer (FRG) stated that I was fired for insubordination. Is my name being slandered here?

Sincerely,
Jobless In New York

Slander?

You didn't give us enough facts to work with. What matters most is what your personnel record shows as the reason why you are no longer employed there at FRG. You have a right to view that record at a reasonable time and place (usually during business hours at the HR office) to determine that. Assuming that it says that you left voluntarily, then FRG's claim that you were terminated for insubordination is certainly false. Your damages are speculative as you would have to prove that CM would surely have hired you but for that claim of FRG.

Assuming that you can prove the above, then I would say your legal damages are at least 1 years worth of wages and benefits you would have earned at CM. Do follow this up with a consultation with a local employment law attorney near you. You should be able to find one at https://attorneypages.com