Faslified Employment Termination. What To Do?
 

About two years ago I worked for a company, I worked for them for about four months before I quit for better pay. I went looking for a new job shortly after my coworker ran through the place stripping off his clothes and yelling obscinities(please keep in mind it was a resturaunt establishment). It turned out that he had gone back into the back cooler to drink beer and smoke weed.

Although what others do on their own time is their business, I found that this was a poor working environment. I sought alternative employment.

I have been out of a job for a few months now and have applied at a few places around town. But I recently found out that that particular employer has been falsifying information about my employment and the termination.

He has told not just possible future employers, but people who know me personsally that I was fired for doing/dealing drugs on premesis durring work hours. This, however, is untrue, and many of my acquantances have defended me on this subject to him and others.

I know I can file for slander, but how should I handle this situation. And is there anything I can do to remove him from his possition? This angers me a great deal and I have spent many hours dwelling on this.

Any advice, comments, or previous experiences would be greatly appriciated.

Get an attorney!

An employer CAN'T tell someone what you were fired for.

You can contact the labor board in whatever city you're in (if you're in Lost Angeles...good luck)

Personally...I would go after the fuckers for lying about me and have his ass fired!

I agree with Keyser, get an attorney and then togethery you two can work out a civil lawsuit.

Unless you're lucky enough to have a lawyer member come by this thread, I also recommend at least paying a lawyer the $50 or whatever he wants for his advice with the situation. That doesn't necessarily mean pursuing a civil court case, but get legal advice from a professional, and find out exactly what all of your options are before you make your decision of action.

What the previous employer is doing to you is serious, and warrants advice from a legal professional, in my opinion. Telling lies to people that call for a reference would be bad enough, but the fact that he is intiating the contact with potential future employers and even personal friends/acquaintances is sick. Don't let this slide! If you wait too long, he'll have contacted enough people that your chances of getting a new job within reasonable commuting distance in the foreseeable future will have dwindled terribly. The longer you wait, the worse this will get, I fear.

deal drugs, and when the cops come to put the pinch on you, finger him as the guy running it in from mexico, using the restaraunt as a front.

get proof. Now. Document everything. Then sue the holy shit out of them. You can get lost wages (I would have made this much at this job, pay me NOW), mental anguish (people are telling lies about poor me! It's traumatic!), punitive damages (these fuckers should KNOW not to go spreading lies about ex-employees!), and probably a whole lot more. You frankly stand to make a big old pile of money and IMHO you deserve every cent of it. If your ex-employer wants to pull shit like this, you should take 'em to the cleaners. Maybe that'll teach 'em to quit being pricks.

well stated... :)

Also, add to your application/resume that prospective employers should *NOT* contact this employer.

yeah get legal advice, and good luck

I don't know about Illinois law, but would add to the advice that you need to document everything, and contact an employment law specialist, and quickly. If it was about two years ago, and the employer wrote down something false at the time you were fired, the statute of limitations might be about to run and prevent you from filing suit unless there's a Illinois statute tolling the limitations period based on an exception that can be found in the facts. There are also a bunch of hoops you must jump through before filing suit in employment matters. Libel suits are usually less successful than specific state employment violation ones, but that might be your only option from a limitations period standpoint. On the other hand, you should also be aware that, depending on your industry, it might not behoove you to become known as an employee who sues, and that this is a small case, so you need someone that knows what they're doing but has a small enough practice that they want your case.

(Dammit, I told myself I was not going to do this.)

Truth! You now own him, if that is, in fact, what he was doing.

As a manager, the only thing that I am really able to answer , to prospective employers seeking references, is a "yes", or a "no", if they ask whether, or not, I would hire X back.

I would also echo, quite loudly;
Get an attorney.
Document ev-er-y-thing. Leave nothing untouched.

well the statute of limitations would apply to what they said to others, not to what they wrote down. For example, if I wrote down that someone raped a 10 year old in 1989, then waited until today to call up a newspaper and spread the lie, I'd be liable because I told the newspaper about it today. The statute of limitations timer starts today, not in 1989.

If it's a corporate chain, you may want to look into filing a complaint with the corporate office as well. Many corporations specifically instruct managers to forward employment verification calls to HR. At the very least he may be in violation of company policy. It may not get him fired, unless there have been other complaints filed.

Yank that goddamn corpo mofo chain!

I'd sue the shit outta him!

I wasn't fired I quit because of a coworker doing the kinda things I am said to have done. Although, he was not the only one to do those things, my managers at the resturaunt often times had beer in their glasses and would do drugs on their breaks. Four of five months after I quit a few of them were fired. I have spoken to a friend of mine (studying legal assistant) and he is trying to help me find a law practice to take my case.

It [i]is[/] corporate, and folowing my concact with a lawyer I may disguss the issue with the district manager.

BINGO!
Don't take any of this kind of crap, if he's done it to you he'll do it or has done it to someone else.
Go and rip his heart out by takeing his job away from him and watch his life turn to shit.