Can an employer  legally give you a bad reference when they fire you?
83147
Lol I think some of the previous responses are hilarious.  No the employer cannot say anything derogatory against you that would be grounds for a defamatory/slander lawsuit.  Companies are allowed to give your dates of employment, your salary, your position, your current employment status, and how you were termed (which most jobs do not volunteer).  Regarding how you were termed if they decide to divulge this information it can be one of two responses generally: voluntarily left position,  terminated.  They cannot volunteer your "life story" i.e. she bitch slapped a manager then she set the office on fire so we had to can her ass.  That's just not going to happen.
1054768
Do not bring it up unless asked.\n\nYour former employer BY LAW is only allowed to verify the dates of employment, position and compensation....that is LAW.\n\nHowever....some employers will take liberties and attempt to blacken your name.\n\nHave a friend call your former employer under the guise of a hiring manager for XYZ company...and have them ask about your employment etc. You will then have a heads up on the type of answer/reference your former boss is handing out to the people calling in. It is better to know up front than not at all...\n\nBest of Luck.\nBTW...take the lesson learned from your experience and avoid making the same mistake at your next place of employment.
776944
Why do you think that?   The only way to know for sure is to ask the employer that didn't hire you, if he called the old employer for a reference and got a bad one.  If that's the case then you will have to leave that employer off your resume'.  That will also cause a problem because the new employer will want to know where you worked before.  Sorry  it's a bad situation.\n\nCappy,  you CANNOT file suit just because a former employer gives you a bad reference.  Maybe you were a bad employee.
1003774
as an at-will employee they dont need a reason to fire you. if they do you can claim full unemployment benifits instead of the partial your getting now. might be a good time to look for a new job
989237
As a hiring agent, the assumption is that your references are going to speak well of you and your ability.  Therefor, they have little value to the prospective employer.  If your minister cannot say good things about you, then you really are in trouble.  The red flag for me, is if the person lists no references.  That is explored during the interview.
503780
Unfortunately there is not much you can do about someones personal opinion of you regardless of how unprofessional the remarks may be.  About the most you can do is refute the claims made by this person if and when you are given the opportunity.  \n\nA professional reference is more or less a recount of how you performed on a job.  They are used the give the perspective employer insight into your work ethics.  I believe references given by former employers must be provide by HR so if the remarks made by this person were not documented and part of your employment file it is possible you could have some type of lawsuit against your former boss or even the company.
1081146
yes. I lost a job that way once. They let me start before the police background check came in and they fired me a week later.
946565
After that they the employers will say that you the employees are not working for the good of their business and will fire you. Then you and your prohibitions can work elsewhere.
297975
Depends on the company policy and the laws of the state you are employed in.  But yeah, in many circumstances, he can totally fire you for being late even just once or twice, as long as he is consistant and would fire anyone else who was late as well.
499537
Put down, YES! If you don't that is an automatic RED FLAG!!\nLabor laws restrict what an employer can day about you. Otherwise they can be sued. Most employers will only give out dates of hire and when you left the company. They can also give out salary info. The one question they can answer that can hurt sometimesis, Would you hire this person back. If they say, No, then they take that as a sign you may have been fired. You can always say that it's your understanding that the company does not rehire ex-employees
296628
Well if they are going to contact your employers then theres not a lot you can do. Maybe telling them that they are going to call might help and then just hope that you worked hard enough to get a good reference.
634201
Yup where I live it is legal and it has happened to me.  There is nothing you can do about it.  I even went as far as getting a lawyer and they even told me there was nothing that could be done.  However, the lawyer contacted the place where I worked and they changed my file to say I left rather than I was fired.
389610
If they hire the temps (or anyone else for that matter) to do the same job they laid you off from, it may be time to take legal action against them. Check with the State employment commission on this for their rules and laws.
132035
yes you can be fired at any tiem. but the employer will tell you its for a differeent reason. but leagally no
838733
Tough question.  If you're an at-will employee, in most states, they can fire you for any reason, or no reason at all.  \nSome states have "service letter" statutes, which require that your former employer provide you a written letter explaining why you were fired.  If they don't provide that letter, then you can use them for damages.\nhttp://www.timslaw.com/serviceletter.htm\n\nIn addition, if you were a state employee, you might have certain additional rights. Same thing if you were in a union.\nFinally, this may be a pretext for a discriminatory termination (are you a minority? old? young? different ethnic group? disabled?) If so, then that may give you a cause of action as well.\n\nI would talk to a lawyer soon, not with the expectation that you will get to sue, but he will listen to your circumstance and give you reasonable advice.  Most plaintiffs' employment lawyers will not charge you for an initial consultation and will not charge fees (but will charge costs) unless you are successful.
101844
Absolutely! its written in the law. Even if you are still working there, at anytime, you can ask to see your employee file from Human Resources, and ask for corrections from any mistakes. They cannot fire you because you wanted to see your file. If they do, contact a lawyer. Good Luck.
556083
It would depend on why you were fired. In any written communication only state the facts, no opinion, and NO sarcasm.  You could state the events that led to your demise in an orderly time-line fashion, and from your perspective pointing out how you were acting in the best interest of the company, or not violating company policy.  Lastly appologize.\n\nIf you were violating company policy or breaking the law, and you didn't have previous personnel issues then there is hope, but only slightly.  I'm sorry I can't say more, but there are no other details upon which to comment.  Good Luck.