Job Trap? Unethical? Conflict of interest?

[gomzilla]

EDIT: There was a typo
Now Bob tells XYZ clinic that Bob is a bad worker.
corrected to
Now Bob tells XYZ clinic that Joe is a bad worker.

(Names are replaced)

Joe = worker/friend
Bob = marketing consultant
Sam = boss of Joe

My friend Joe works in a dental clinic ABC.
There is a marketing consultant Bob that works part-time in that ABC clinic.
Bob works in a lot of other dental clinics like DEF clinic and XYZ clinic in the area.
Joe is trying to find another job and of course without telling his boss Sam at ABC clinic.
Joe submits his resume at XYZ clinic and does not realize that Bob works for XYZ clinic
Bob finds out that Joe gave his resume at XYZ clinic.
Now Bob tells XYZ clinic that Joe is a bad worker.
On top of that, Bob tells Sam that he (Joe) is trying to quit.

So Joe feels trapped at ABC clinic.
Is Bob stepping out of line? is this unethical? conflict of interest?
Is there anything Joe can do against Bob? or against Sam?

 

[cbg]

Nothing Bob did is ILLEGAL. There is no action Joe can take against Sam. There is a very, very, very slight possibility, depending on EXACTLY what Bob said, that he might be able to put together a very weak case against Bob, but the odds are against it.

 

[Just Blue]

(Names are replaced)

Joe = worker/friend
Bob = marketing consultant
Sam = boss of Joe

My friend Joe works in a dental clinic ABC.
There is a marketing consultant Bob that works part-time in that ABC clinic.
Bob works in a lot of other dental clinics like DEF clinic and XYZ clinic in the area.
Joe is trying to find another job and of course without telling his boss Sam at ABC clinic.
Joe submits his resume at XYZ clinic and does not realize that Bob works for XYZ clinic
Bob finds out that Joe gave his resume at XYZ clinic.
Now Bob tells XYZ clinic that Bob is a bad worker.
On top of that, Bob tells Sam that he (Joe) is trying to quit.

So Joe feels trapped at ABC clinic.
Is Bob stepping out of line? is this unethical? conflict of interest?
Is there anything Joe can do against Bob? or against Sam?

What state?

 

[Taxing Matters]

Is there anything Joe can do against Bob? or against Sam?

Bob is a marketing consultant for multiple dental clinics, apparently. That indicates Bob is an independent contractor. His only obligations are his contractual obligations to his clients. He has no particular obligation to Joe. Bob telling XYZ that Joe is a bad worker is not a conflict of interest with respect to Joe because Bob doesn't owe Joe anything in the first place. Nor is Bob telling Sam that Joe put in his application to XYZ any conflict of interest with respect to Joe because again Bob doesn't owe Joe anything.

Now, if it was untrue that Joe is a bad worker that might give Joe a claim against Bob for defamation. Why would Joe think he might have some claim against Sam? Your statement of the facts do not show that Sam did anything here.

Sam and XYZ might want to reconsider using Bob as a consultant since Bob apparently can't be trusted not to blab his client's information to other competitors.

 

[gomzilla]

What state?

VA

 

[adjusterjack]

So Joe feels trapped at ABC clinic.

Why trapped? He's not tied to a chair. He can leave whenever he wants to.

If you mean that relations between Joe and Sam are strained because Joe is job hunting well, that's the risk anybody takes when one looks for another job.

 

[xylene]

Is Joe a bad worker?

Who are you?

 

[Zigner]

Now, if it was untrue that Joe is a bad worker that might give Joe a claim against Bob for defamation.

"Bad worker" sounds like an opinion and is unlikely to rise to the level of defamation. (Just my opinion, of course )

 

[Taxing Matters]

"Bad worker" sounds like an opinion and is unlikely to rise to the level of defamation. (Just my opinion, of course )

The OP didn't say that Bob literally said "Joe is a bad worker." So a lot depends on exactly what Bob did say, which we do not know. Hence, my statement that Joe might have a case for defamation.

 

[Zigner]

The OP didn't say that Bob literally said "Joe is a bad worker."

Actually, the OP said exactly that...

 

[Taxing Matters]

Actually, the OP said exactly that...

No, the OP said:

Now Bob tells XYZ clinic that Bob is a bad worker.

Notice that no quote marks were used. So the statement is just a general one that Bob told XYZ that Joe (I assume that is who was really meant here) is a bad worker. It does not state what was literally said. It only tells us that whatever was said can be summarized as telling XYZ that Joe was a bad worker. Well, there are many things Bob could have said all of which would describe Joe as a bad worker; the details of exactly what was said matters.

 

[Zigner]

No, the OP said:



Notice that no quote marks were used. So the statement is just a general one that Bob told XYZ that Joe (I assume that is who was really meant here) is a bad worker. It does not state what was literally said. It only tells us that whatever was said can be summarized as telling XYZ that Joe was a bad worker. Well, there are many things Bob could have said all of which would describe Joe as a bad worker; the details of exactly what was said matters.

Having not witnessed it, quote marks would be inappropriate in any case.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Unless the OP is Joe, Bob and/or Sam any info we get is secondhand at best.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Having not witnessed it, quote marks would be inappropriate in any case.

Then you concede that the statement was not necessarily what was literally said, right?

 

[Zigner]

Then you concede that the statement was not necessarily what was literally said, right?

Literally, nobody on this thread even knows that anything was actually said.