Is Your Former Abusive Boss Going to Give You a Bad Reference? Here’s How to Fix It

If you’ve escaped working for a bully boss, but are afraid of what the bully will say to your prospective employers during reference checks, then this article is for you. I’ve been getting this question a lot lately, most recently from a reader named Allen, whose email to me is posted below with my response following:

Hi there, I was searching through some law websites when all of a sudden I came across your website. I had a question about job applications: is it unlawful to ask why you left your last job? The reason I asked is because I was fired from my last job for some flim flam reason, and it would be a shame if I didn’t get the job that I’m applying for due to telling the truth, and then the truth turns right around and kicks me in the butt.

Also, is it illegal for a former employer to tell anyone that they fired you?

Thank you,

Allen

Here’s My Response To Allen’s Job Reference Question

Hey Allen,

Thanks for writing.  The answers to your questions about reference checking are “No” and “It can be”.  Let me explain one at a time.

2. It can be illegal for your former employer to give a bad reference about you if he or she knows the negative reference is not true.  So, whenever giving a bad reference, the company giving it must be truthful and completely accurate.  If the reference is not truthful and accurate, and it causes you to not get a job, then you can sue your former employer for defamation.  Here are the elements of defamation:

1. Publication to a third party (the prospective employer);
2. Of a false statement (the description of you as anything other than a conscientious, hardworking employee)
3. That harms your reputation (you didn’t get the job)
4. Damages (the money you are not making because you didn’t get the job).

See how cleanly the elements of defamation match up with the act of giving a former employee a bad reference?  Your ex-employer could only argue over the second element of defamation.  Elements 1, 3, and 4 are all indisputably present.

This is why so many companies only release ex-employees’ dates of hire, dates of separation, beginning wages, ending wages, and job titles.  Those things are objective. The company can prove each one was accurate.  But if the ex-employer starts to talking to a prospective employer about your “attitude,” or if you were “a team player” or other vague statements, then your former bosses are getting into highly subjective territory that you can dispute.

What I suggest is that you call the old company and ask what information they give out when someone calls to check a reference. If they give out more than just your dates, position and wage, then tell them you object to releasing any more than those few objective facts.  Be sure to follow up in writing with your ex-employer by sending the company an email or letter (to your immediate boss and to whomever is responsible for HR). Here’s another of my famous letter templates for you to use:

“To confirm our phone conversation of earlier today, you stated that Company does release subjective information to potential employers who call to check the references of Company’s former employees.

“I continue to object to Company releasing ANY information about my tenure with Company other than my date of hire, date of separation, beginning wage, ending wage, and job title.  If Company does not limit itself to these objective pieces of information, but knowingly gives out false information about my employment which causes me to not be hired, be assured that I will take legal action.

“You know that I dispute the reason given for my termination.  Although I still believe that Company knows this reason was not true, I have tried to move on with my life and make a clean break.   If Company decides that it must spread untrue information about me to my potential employers, I will have no choice but to reverse my decision to make a clean break and file suit against Company in court for defamation.

“I sincerely hope that Company will agree to make a clean break of our relationship and that further communication between our attorneys will not be necessary.

Sincerely,  Allen”

If your former employer has any sense at all, it will realize that it is much, much cheaper for it to only release your dates, wages and title; in fact, your former employer gains nothing by stabbing you in the back with a bad reference.  Most see that giving out references offer nothing to gain and plenty to lose.  With a letter like the one above, you can demonstrate to your former employer that refraining from saying anything negative about you is “a no-brainer.”

Have YOU ever faced the prospect of a former employer giving you a bad reference you didn’t deserve?

The Dumb Money is Betting On Sunny Skies

FRIDAY UPDATE: “The U.S. lost more jobs than forecast in August and the unemployment rate climbed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent, a sign that the economic slowdown is worsening.” (Full Article).

“Foreclosures accelerated to the fastest pace in almost three decades during the second quarter as interest rates increased and home values fell, prompting more Americans to walk away from homes they couldn’t refinance or sell.”  (Full Article).

Betting on Sunny Skies?

If you need a job in order to pay your bills, this isn’t the best of times.  Today the federal Labor Department announced that unemployment claims increased more than the “experts” had expertly predicted.  Other cheerful facts about the state of the U.S. economy:

• Unemployment rolls are at a five-year high
• 3.4 million Americans were collecting unemployment last week
• U.S. companies cut 33,000 jobs in August, 2008.
• Today’s Dow Jones average plunged 340 points, sending the S&P 500 into it’s longest losing streak since January.
• Wall Streeters are starting to talk about a “financial tsunami.” (Full Article)

Now if you’re like me, you have about $1.27 invested in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  So what does all this Wall Street hand-wringing matter to people with microscopic portfollios?

WHY DOES WALL STREET MATTER TO NON-WALL STREET PEOPLE?

It matters because these hand-wringing wall street types are the ones who say “Ford could save a Gazillion dollars by laying off 3/4 of their work force.”  And big industrial companies listen to Wall Street.  And then every day working people start getting “non-retained.”

The extra hand-wringing today, Thursday, is because tomorrow the Labor Department announces the August employment report.  Before today, the expectation for the August Employment report was glum.  After today’s news the outlook is more akin to economic suicide.

One report ended with this sunny summary: “Households may cut spending as employment prospects dim, property values decline and credit becomes harder to get.” (Full Article)

IF YOU HAVE A JOB, NOW’S THE TIME TO KEEP IT

Protect your job from desperate bosses and harassing managers who want to appear cost conscious by finding any excuse to cut people from your organization.  Sign up for my 7 part mini-course and you’ll receive 7 work law secrets via email, all of them straight from my authoritative eBook, “Work Laws Exposed.”  Sign up in the green box on this page.

Bad News: No Home Sales = No Emergency Cash

Why are people so concerned about their jobs right now?  Because they see the “For Sale” signs going up all around them — and they know the reason is because these neighbors can’t afford their mortgages any longer. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Friday the economy continues to be in a recession, by his definition, and will continue to be for at least several more months. (Full Article Here.)

U.S. Fed Chief Ben Bernanke said Friday that “the financial storm that reached gale force” last year “has not yet subsided, and its effects on the broader economy are becoming apparent in the form of softening economic activity and rising unemployment,” . (Full Article Here.)

That certainly appears to be the case in my own neighborhood.  I live in a sub-division that was built five years ago.  There are far more homes for sale right now than any time in the prior five years.  And all those homes are staying on the market longer. With few of any signs displaying “Sold” across the top, families like mine can no longer easily access their equity which serves as the emergency fund for so many people who live without the fat savings accounts that financial magazines breezily discuss — as if everybody has one.

The truth is that most people, myself included, make money from working at my job.  The only other way I “make” money is through the appreciation of my home.  Now, with home appreciation cut off, I have to rely more than ever on my job.  And I know I’m not alone in worrying about keeping a regularly paycheck coming in for my family, because more people than ever ARE losing their jobs.

The U.S. Dept of Labor announced that “Year-to-date layoff figures in 2008 were the highest January-July totals since 2003.”  The region that suffered the most was the Midwest, followed by the South and West.  All areas suffered, just to a lesser degree. The largest economy in the west is California, and that state recorded the highest number of initial unemployment claims filed due to mass lay-offs in the month of July with 33,250 people out of work, largely due to layoffs in administrative and support services and in educational services. The next highest numbers of mass layoff claims were in Michigan (27,672), Ohio (19,402), and Kentucky (11,907). (Full Article Here.)

The Overland Park, Kan.-based firm, the local-phone service provider in 18 states.  And what does it blame these problems on? The slow down in housing, just like everyone else.

People are worried because they are awake and listening, and they see what their neighbors are going through. With most people unable to access the equity in their homes, the regular paycheck becomes the sole and crucial source of income. Now more than ever it’s important to protect your job with every tool available. For example, you can increase your education, so that you offer more skills to your employer.  Or, you can simply work harder and more efficiently, so that management views you as an indispensable part of the company machine. Some people, however, are in a situations where the boss or manager are already deciding who to let go; you may not have time to increase your skills through education or make a new impression through working harder. If you are in the latter case, it’s important that you maximize all the legal protections the law gives to employees. Even “At Will” Employees can protect themselves at work through the use of protected classes.  To learn more about protected classes and how anyone can qualify for their protection you can read my free 7 Part Report on the Secrets of Work Law.  Part one comes to you immediately, and all you have to do is sign up with your name and email address in the green box at the top of this page. My next post will address how supervisors and managers are themselves feeling the stress of the economy; bookmark this page and return Wednesday to learn more about how to respond to the economic stress that your own boss feels.

Learn How To File an Unemployment Claim

Economy Down, Unemployment Claims Up

With our economy the way it is, I decided to prepare a guide to filing for unemployment benefits. My idea was to explain how the unemployment system works, what the standard is for accepting or rejecting claims, and then add in stories from my own experience about what the best tactics and common mistakes are in filing for unemployment benefits.

Scam “Services”

In researching what others were already saying on the internet, I was alarmed to find “businesses” selling something that at first looks like legal services for people who want to file an unemployment claim. However, after you fill in your information (I did it just to see what the site was really offering) you have to check a box agreeing to a long waiver — where you agree you are not buying legal services, or even buying help with filing your claim. Then you are taken to a second screen where you pay the business $9.95 and they send you a “customized report” on where and how to file. In the fine print you also agree to $2.50 per week charged to your credit card so you can “access” their non-existent resources.

Where To File – For FREE!

For free, you can see where to file right here, for all 50 states.

The main thing you need to know, however, is the standard you must meet in order to get unemployment benefit compensation, which is this:

The Standard That Decides ALL Unemployment Claims

Unemployment Insurance Benefits are intended to provide temporary financial assistance to workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own.”  That last sentence is the key to unemployment claims.  Follow these four tips in order to implement that sentence:

Four Quick Tips For Filers

So a few quick tips if you can’t wait for my full report to come out.

• Never write down that you “resigned”. Instead write that you “were constructively discharged” (which means you were forced out).

• Even if you were terminated, always maintain that you “were willing and able to work.” This should be a theme that infuses every answer on your unemployment claim application.

• Example: “I wanted to continue working at ABC Company but was constructively discharged by the hostile work environment created by my manager’s behavior.”

• Don’t go into HOW your manager constructively discharged you on your application, leave that for your phone hearing or write a response to your manager’s response.

• Know your deadline! Follow the link above and learn how many days you have to file your claim. Then put it on your calendar and circle it in red.

Conclusion: Don’t Pay, There’s a Better Way

There is plenty of information here if you need to file your unemployment claim right away. Coming soon, however, will be my full report on filing successful unemployment claims. Even if you can’t wait for it, remember, don’t pay money to anyone for unemployment claim insurance advice.