Unfavorable Reference Undocumented
My previous supervisor is not giving me a
favorable reference. Further, she has
instructed all of my previous co-workers
under her direction which is almost all
of them that they are under a gag order.
One person I had worked with for 2 years who
said they would be a reference told a
potential employer "Oh, I don't feel
comfortable giving her a reference. I
haven't known her long."
She was only my supervisor for about a
year. I had no bad reviews, nothing
negative documented.
I was with the company for 12 years.
However, both of my previous supervisor's
have now retired and most of my other
co-workers have left.
I don't know how to combat this problem.
There is hardly anyone left to combat
what she says. I still email her
occasionally, and she responds with a
friendly tone.
The only clue I have is that someone
once told me that she was afraid of me,
because I have a lot of computer knowledge
and could be a threat to her.
Help?
Answers (1)
A former employer has no obligation to give you a reference. Arizona even has a statute that protects an employer who gives a negative reference if it is done in good faith (that is, based upon legitimate facts and not done merely to hurt you). Many companies refuse to give reference information as a matter of policy. If your employer tells friends not to give you a reference, it may be in order to enforce the non-reference policy, if the company has such a policy. Otherwise, you might have a potential claim of interference with prospective advantage, since it would be hard for the supervisor to come up with a legitimate reason for giving employees such a directive. The burden would be on you to prove that the supervisor gave the direction to hurt your chances for future employment and not for any legitimate business reason. Perhaps someone in the human respurces office of your former company can tell you what the company's policy is regarding references.
posted by Francis Fanning | Jan 1, 2003 7:05 PM [EST]
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