cbg said:
If you are asking if there is any way you can sue to prevent your former employer from saying anything negative about you potentially, no, you can't. You can't sue for something that might happen.
IF the employer says something either negligent or untrue to a prospective employer AND as a direct result you don't get the job AND you can prove that, THEN you can take legal action. Not before.
CBG,
Thanks for the input...
I'm sorry if I gave a mis-interpretation~
I did not mean "for something that might happen"...
I did mean direct "deformation of character" (after the fact)~
Though it would be nice to know what they would say
before it cost me a job...
Which brings about another question: What if I had a friend in HR call from a ligitimate company for a reference and tape record their response?
If their response was ill advised (as I suspect) could I use that recording to pin a "deformation" suit on them?
BTW: Here is a summary of what happened...
Spego Summary of Events
• Endured abuse (consisting of: harassment, badgering, belittling and eventually 2 counts of physical assault) at Spego for almost 7 months because:
1. I have a relatively passive personality.
2. I did not want to bother Clint (company VP) with the situation.
3. Roy (the floor supervisor) insisted that he was my boss and I did not want to question it for fear that I would loose my job.
4. Roy (being 100 + lbs. larger than myself) threatened to “bust my head” if I spoke to anyone in higher level management about him.
• After continually getting sick at my stomach with relating stress, I finally felt like my nerves could not handle any more of Roy’s bullying attitude. So, I spoke to Clint about Roy’s actions…During our meeting, he laughed at the problem…and I assured him that I did not think it was funny!
• The harrassment continued…Confused, I talked to Clint again…I asked him what he had said to Roy after our first discussion. He said: “Nothing, because I wanted to see what it would escalate into.”
• My second discussion with Clint only resulted in Roy returning to me laughing…Roy said: “Clint told me that you were up here telling on me!” He threatens to “Bust my head if I say anything else to Clint or get in his path”!
• Later that day, after continuous badgering, I decide the situation is unbearable and have a third talk with Clint about Roy’s hostility; making sure that he fully understood the seriousness of the problem. The next morning, only after Roy assaulted me as he came through the back door, did I see Clint briefly addressed the situation…However, very loosely I’m certain…Roy did slack somewhat on he actions…but not for long…
• Approximately 2 ½ weeks after our third discussion, Roy continued his hostility which ended in a second physical assault. I tried to get Clint to relieve the situation, but he chose to avoid the problem.
• I had no other choice but to seek legal intervention in the form of a restraining order.
• The next day (Friday) I told Clint what had taken place and he sent me home. He asked that I call him later that evening. I left two messages on his cell phone and had Tracee ask him directly to return my call. He did not reply.
• Saturday, I called him from a restricted line at about 12:30…and he picked up. Clint quickly put me off saying that he was having lunch and he would have to call me back.
• Monday, Clint finally returned my call. He informed me that I should stay home Tuesday. Furthermore, he said that he would pay me for Friday and Tuesday since it wasn’t my fault that I was not working (have recorded message). My next check does not reflect any payment as he indicated.
• Tuesday, I called Clint to find out if I should report to work Wednesday. He did not answer his phone, so I left two messages asking that he let me know his intensions for my employment with Spego. Clint never returned those calls either.
• At that point, I called the EEOC and spoke to Bob about the situation. He advised that me to view the situation as I had been fired and I should seek unemployment immediately.
• Wednesday, I went to the ESC and explained my situation. It was agreed that I had been fired. Consequently, I applied for unemployment benefits.
• Thursday, I went to court seeking a permenent restraining order against Roy (it was awarded).
• Friday, I went to pick up my check from Darla in HR. She is aware of the situation. I tell her that I am doing better now that a permanent restraining order has been issued. She sympathizes and says that Stan (manager of Turnamics) wanted to talk to me…possibly about a job at Turnamics (handles CNC production). Stan was not currently in the office and I decline his audience none-the-less because: I did not want to get into a long explanation of the events with someone who had nothing to do with the situation. Clint was throwing off his responsibility to handle the matter on him…Stan is the manager of Turnamics…consequently, any position that Stan would have offered would have been working for Turnamics in a lesser capacity. Effectively, I would be demoted (through no fault of my own) from my previous position as a Robotics Technician working for Spego (call it an attempt at “constructive termination”) More likely, I felt like Clint had just told Stan to fire me (which was later confirmed in Stan’s reply to the ESC). It was documented that I was, in fact, fired for being insubordinate to the floor supervisor (the same man who assaulted me).
• Friday, Darla leaves a message on my home answering machine at approximately 4:00 asking that I return my rental clothes and key to Spego when I recover my toolbox.
• Friday, on my way to Kentucky (about 7:30), I note a missed call from Clint…when I check my messages, his is almost entirely static. After having been subject to his neglect of the issue up to now, I figure the call can only be an attempt to cover his tracks. I erase the call and do not return it.
• Tuesday (Sept. 20th), after giving Clint more than 2 weeks to consider the issue…hoping he would do the right thing and call me back to my original position as a Robotics Technician working for Spego, I am advised by an attorney to get an arrest warrant for Roy’s assault. Later that day, I also check Buncombe county records and find Roy has a 3 page history of criminal offenses.