Former employer leaves threatning message on voice mail

[hank0516]

I walked out of my job today 2 hours into the shift. I am a bartender. 2 hours later my boss/owner left a voice mail stateing how unproffessional I was and how he was going to make it his mission to find out were I work and tell them what kind of worker I am. I was at the job for almost 2 years with no write ups or issues. Do I have any recourse. I'm afraid to apply any where now and say I worked there.

 

[quincy]

Why, exactly, did you walk off the job (leaving the bar untended, I'm assuming)?

You really have no legal recourse, at least from what you have posted here. Your boss may have been a bit unprofessional himself when he left you a nasty voice message, but he is perfectly within his legal rights to give you bad references whenever you apply for other jobs.

If you had a good reason for walking out, add that to applications or tell potential employers during interviews, what occurred that led to your leaving. Otherwise, try to find someone at the bar that will give you a good reference and add that person's name to your application. That will not prevent a bad reference from your former boss, but may help to show you are generally reliable.

And, it really doesn't matter how long you have worked at a place with no write-ups if, say, you steal money from the register one day. That sort of erases all of the good hours and good days you put into your job previously.

 

[hank0516]

Thanks for your response. I guess I did not give enough information. I have a full time job and this job was my part time job. It started getting to be more than what I could handle(he gave me more shifts, changed my shifts). My full time job hours changed and I could no longer work as many part time hours. I requested to work less and my boss/owner(this is a bowling alley) just blew it off, and told me to hang in there. I put my two-week notice in on Feb. 29. I kept going to work and I asked to be taken off the schedule that I just could not work any more. He said no I have to work the rest of my notice. (Remember this was my part time job.) I was just fed up with his arrogant attitude. There were other employees there so I was not leaving the bar unattended. I always showed up to work in the past even when diagnosed with pneumonia. His response when I called with a doctors note stating I had pneumonia and can not work, "here are the numbers to other employees better get someone to work for you." Putting the fear that if I didn't get anyone to work for me and did not show up I would be let go. At that time I needed the money and could not afford to lose my job. I stayed at this place because I liked the customers and the money was good. I can now afford to not work at this place and was using the money for extra cash.

So this was why I just finally got fed up and walked out. He than left this message on my voice mail "That was probably one of the most unprofessional acts I have ever seen by anyone. I am going to make it a mission in my life to find out wherever you might get another part-time job and I'm going to make it my mission in life to make sure that employer knows exactly what he is hiring. That was the most unprofessional thing I have ever seen an employee due Amy, I hope you sleep well tonight."

I have the voice mail saved and I transferred it to an audio file on my computer for safekeeping. I have also burned it to a CD. (I have played it for other people and they find it very amussing/disturbing that he is the owner of the bowling alley) He is in his mid to late fifties. I am a 28 year old female.

I also reported this to the police because I felt threatened by this voice mail. They have documented incident.

So do I have any recourse, if he says things about me to a future employer? I was not a bad employee. Thanks for your help

 

[quincy]

Since this was a part-time position and not your main source of income, you could leave it off any job applications and your resume.

If you feel you want to or need to include it, do not put your former employer's name down as a reference, but instead find someone who worked at the bowling alley with you to use as a reference. If asked by a future employer why you quit, you can explain the situation. But be prepared for a bad reaction. It may be understandable to others why you walked out, but to an employer it might not.

If your former employer is contacted anyway, and he tells future employers false and defamatory things about you, then you might have some recourse. If he simply tells them you walked off the job, however, then you have no recourse, because that is what you did.

You were wise to report the threat to the police. But that is about all you can do with the voice message.

 

[cbg]

While you CAN leave a part time job off your resume, some employers will consider that a lie of omission.

Speaking as a hiring manager of many, many years, if I hired you and later was to find out that you left a job off your resume because you were afraid of your reference, I would fire you immediately, and I promise you that it would be a legal termination. However, if you were to include the information and explain to me up front what happened, what kind of reference I could expect from that employer, and why, I would not hold it against you. I will forgive an single indiscretion, especially where it sounds as if you were driven to the action you took. I would not forgive being lied to, and a lie of omission is still a lie.