Is a fake reference, resume and recommendation service illegal?

[violet2013]

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

Is a fake reference, resume and recommendation service illegal?

I have been an employee working under incompetent supervisors, directors and with unqualified co-workers at several companies.

I have worked primarily in human resources and many times candidates for jobs we post get thrown out because they don't meet the minimum qualifications but they are close! I think a great service would be one that helps candidates fill their resume with fake experience if they are qualified for the job and have had a few different types of experience in the field. Although they may not have had 5 years of managerial experience but they do have 2 and are passionate, I feel they should get the job. Is this service illegal? Can the company offering fake references be sued?

 

[CSO286]

I rather doubt the company providing the serivce can be sued, but the client utilizing such a service can and most likely will be fired once his deception is revealed.

A [potential] employee who uses such a service would also be demonstrating the degree to which he can be trusted to be honest by any employer.

 

[quincy]

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

Is a fake reference, resume and recommendation service illegal?

I have been an employee working under incompetent supervisors, directors and with unqualified co-workers at several companies.

I have worked primarily in human resources and many times candidates for jobs we post get thrown out because they don't meet the minimum qualifications but they are close! I think a great service would be one that helps candidates fill their resume with fake experience if they are qualified for the job and have had a few different types of experience in the field. Although they may not have had 5 years of managerial experience but they do have 2 and are passionate, I feel they should get the job. Is this service illegal? Can the company offering fake references be sued?

Yes. Should a person be hired by a company based on fake references, both the newly-hired employee and the company providing the fake references can face legal difficulties.

If a person has two years of experience and is passionate about their job, that is what goes on their resume. Passion does not equate to three additional years of experience.

 

[Silverplum]

Yes. Should a person be hired by a company based on fake references, both the employee and the company can face legal difficulties.

If a person has two years of experience and is passionate, that is what goes on their resume. Passion does not equate to five years of experience.

Passion equates to a low-rent daytime soap opera.

Oh, wait. That was "Passions," plural.

Topic? Nothing.

 

[CSO286]

Yes. Should a person be hired by a company based on fake references, both the newly-hired employee and the company providing the fake references can face legal difficulties.

If a person has two years of experience and is passionate about their job, that is what goes on their resume. Passion does not equate to three additional years of experience.

I kind of looked at this along the lines of those fly by night term paper services. While the applicant is bound by the "All info on my application is true and accurate to the best of my knowlege", what would the service provider be bound by ("ass"uming they are not providing the false info to a government agency)?

 

[Antigone*]

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

Is a fake reference, resume and recommendation service illegal?

I have been an employee working under incompetent supervisors, directors and with unqualified co-workers at several companies.

I have worked primarily in human resources and many times candidates for jobs we post get thrown out because they don't meet the minimum qualifications but they are close! I think a great service would be one that helps candidates fill their resume with fake experience if they are qualified for the job and have had a few different types of experience in the field. Although they may not have had 5 years of managerial experience but they do have 2 and are passionate, I feel they should get the job. Is this service illegal? Can the company offering fake references be sued?

This kind of stupid idea could end up costing you more than you know. Don't do it.

 

[Proserpina]

Let's hope violet doesn't need to interview anywhere anytime soon.

Kind of proven how (un)trustworthy s/he is. And the truly amazing part is, everyone ELSE is incompetent and/or unqualified. Yet the only common denominator is....you guessed it! Violet!

 

[commentator]

I can only add that if someone is hired, based on what they have said, and it turns out that they do not have the experience, ability, expertise they claim they had, even if it is blatantly obvious that they have lied or falsified their application, they are still considered to have committed no misconduct if they are fired because of this. The way unemployment law looks at it, it is the duty of the prospective employer to check references, verify experience and determine if the person is whopping lying. You'd be surprised how many employers are truly lazy about this, will hire someone without verification, and then be astonished when it is discovered that the person had NO IDEA how to do the job they were hired for. If you lie about having relatives at a place or having worked there before, that's misconduct. If you lie about having a felony on your record, that's misconduct. If you lie and say that you can do x y and z or lie about your experience, that's considered something they should have checked up on.

 

[Antigone*]

I suggest Violet give it a try herself. Let her trash her own career and not others.

 

[tranquility]

If damages were caused from the intentional misrepresentation, both the person who made the representation (the company) and the person who caused it to be made (the employee) could be sued. Certainly, if found out the employee could be terminated for cause. Also, it could be theft (https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=609.52). See also, http://www.mnbar.org/benchandbar/2006/sept06/fraud.htm .

 

[quincy]

I kind of looked at this along the lines of those fly by night term paper services. While the applicant is bound by the "All info on my application is true and accurate to the best of my knowlege", what would the service provider be bound by ("ass"uming they are not providing the false info to a government agency)?

The service provider is knowingly and willingly providing fake references and doctoring applications to make the applicant appear more attractive to an employer and more qualified for an open position than s/he really is.

For example, let's say an applicant does not have the type of experience working with children that is required for a position, but the company helps the applicant lie to the prospective employer by providing fake references and by adding a few years of relevant experience to the resume. The applicant is hired based on these glowing references and the years of experience working with children.

Then a child is hurt while under the applicant's care and it is discovered that the applicant was not qualified to care for children at all. The parents sue the employer and the applicant/worker, and the parents and the employer can sue the company that provided the false references that landed the employee in the position in the first place. The company helped assist an unqualified person get hired for the position by lying to the employer, resulting in harm.

Lawsuits and potential criminal actions are possible.

The proposed business idea does not involve just paper, like the term paper services, but people, and it is a very bad idea.

 

[CSO286]

The service provider is knowingly and willingly providing fake references and doctoring applications to make the applicant appear more attractive to an employer and more qualified for an open position than s/he really is.

For example, let's say an applicant does not have the type of experience working with children that is required for a position, but the company helps the applicant lie to the prospective employer by providing fake references and by adding a few years of relevant experience to the resume. The applicant is hired based on these glowing references and the years of experience working with children.

Then a child is hurt while under the applicant's care and it is discovered that the applicant was not qualified to care for children at all. The parents sue the employer and the applicant/worker, and the parents and the employer can sue the company that provided the false references that landed the employee in the position in the first place. The company helped assist an unqualified person get hired for the position by lying to the employer, resulting in harm.

Lawsuits and potential criminal actions are possible.

The proposed business idea does not involve just paper, like the term paper services, but people, and it is a very bad idea.

Thank you for the clarification, Quincy.

 

[quincy]

You're welcome, CSO286.



And to RedemptionMan: Telling someone it is okay to fake references and qualifications if "it works for you" and you are careful not to get caught? Unbelievably bad advice.

 

[RedemptionMan]

You're welcome, CSO286.



And to RedemptionMan: Telling someone it is okay to fake references and qualifications if "it works for you" and you are careful not to get caught? Unbelievably bad advice.

I LOL at your moral compass, and raise you that 99 percent of most people who get their job are not the most qualified to begin with. It is was because they either personally knew the hiring manager or felt like they were the best fit regardless of questionable references or qualifications. That is why my resume is backed up by a portfolio of documentation evidence for everything that I say on my resume. If 90 percent of all resumes are BS to begin with then how does the manager or any one else that you are trying to convince to hire you know if you are telling the truth? If this person gets away with it then who is to say it was bad advice, it worked for them. Everything is about money, Universities do not care about their students or them getting jobs, all they care about is increasing admissions and enrollment year after year. They do not care if you can or can not find a job after school. A general diploma in English or History is great if the employer likes you and hires you. The fact that each and every one of you all at some point has lied or stretched the truth to get a job or your current job makes this thread altogether a fraud.

I can not speak on your moral fibers cause I do not know them, but I do know from my past experiences in jobs that paid extremely well and some not that well, that people will lie, steal, and cheat to get ahead specifically it means that they will make more money than they currently make. They can smile at you one minute and then give damaging statements on the other, people these days have weird motives. Some jobs you can not fudge qualifications on, but for standard business things, she is in her power to proceed as she wants to. If it works for her great, she makes money. This is one reason why HR departments want to be involved in hiring processes so much to keep the hiring managers from hiring zombie idiots. Well, they can be worked around as well, it just takes a lot of red tape but eventually the hiring manager is going to hire who they want regardless of HR. This has at least been my experience.

 

[Proserpina]

I LOL at your moral compass, and raise you that 99 percent of most people who get their job are not the most qualified to begin with. It is was because they either personally knew the hiring manager or felt like they were the best fit regardless of questionable references or qualifications. That is why my resume is backed up by a portfolio of documentation evidence for everything that I say on my resume. If 90 percent of all resumes are BS to begin with then how does the manager or any one else that you are trying to convince to hire you know if you are telling the truth? If this person gets away with it then who is to say it was bad advice, it worked for them. Everything is about money, Universities do not care about their students or them getting jobs, all they care about is increasing admissions and enrollment year after year. They do not care if you can or can not find a job after school. A general diploma in English or History is great if the employer likes you and hires you. The fact that each and every one of you all at some point has lied or stretched the truth to get a job or your current job makes this thread altogether a fraud.

I can not speak on your moral fibers cause I do not know them, but I do know from my past experiences in jobs that paid extremely well and some not that well, that people will lie, steal, and cheat to get ahead specifically it means that they will make more money than they currently make. They can smile at you one minute and then give damaging statements on the other, people these days have weird motives. Some jobs you can not fudge qualifications on, but for standard business things, she is in her power to proceed as she wants to. If it works for her great, she makes money. This is one reason why HR departments want to be involved in hiring processes so much to keep the hiring managers from hiring zombie idiots. Well, they can be worked around as well, it just takes a lot of red tape but eventually the hiring manager is going to hire who they want regardless of HR. This has at least been my experience.

Cites please.