- Jurisdiction
- California
I believe that my case can fulfill the elements of intentional misrepresentation/fraud. I have been trying to get employment lawyers to take my case, but five of them so far declined with no substantive reason given (only that they were overwhelmed with cases). Maybe I am supposed to focus on business law, fraud, unfair business practice attorneys?
Please let me know if I have a case here, if this falls under something else, and/or if I have additional causes of action (emotional distress certainly being one of
Unless you were not an at-will employee, no.
Also, you neglected the scienter element of fraud. Negligent misrepresentation requires that the defendant owe the plaintiff a duty of care, which isn't the case in a prospective employer/employee situation. Intentional misrepresentation would be next to impossible to prove here because there's absolutely no benefit to an employer to lie in this situation. Bringing in an employee only to fire that employee shortly after hiring and then having to hire someone new is an expensive proposition.
There's no question that there is a case here. I have absolutely no problem "shelling out that cheddar" either, as some ignoramus claimed on here.
And this one is rich. You ready for this? I discovered on February 7 (last month) that my company put out a job description on Indeed for a PATHOLOGISTS' ASSISTANT that had the SAME EXACT JOB DUTIES as the grossing technician job that I applied for back in September of last year. Those two job titles have wildly different qualifications and duties, which I discovered several months into my employment. So in other words, they INTENTIONALLY lowered the qualifications and job title in order to get someone in there quickly because the doctor was way too bombarded with work.
Something else to note regarding the reason for firing me due to "violation of patient confidentiality." Check this out... The HR rep of my company had me sign two confidentiality documents: a confidentiality statement from the company I was employed under and who cut my checks, and a confidentiality agreement from the hospital where I physically worked. In the hospital agreement, the boxes stated "Employee Name (Please Print)" and "Employee Signature". I signed both of course, BUT I was not an EMPLOYEE of the HOSPITAL whatsoever. I was employed by my company, so is the hospital agreement null and void? I would say so. My company's confidentiality statement should therefore be the only one that applies here, and I clearly did not violate that. If I did, HR would have said so and highlighted stuff. If I'm going to be fired over a patient confidentiality issue, wouldn't you think that I would violate BOTH documents??? Whether HR of my company has the authority to fire me on a hospital agreement without the hospital having any say in the matter is another issue too. But there is a technicality here that I believe makes the hospital agreement null and void (again, I was never an employee of that hospital).
This is really interesting, and I'm going to ask about the confidentiality agreements in the Contracts section on here.
P.S. I wonder how many of these people commenting are actual lawyers. My guess is none based on their ridiculous and mostly unprofessional answers.
Hello folks,
I was recently fired for an alleged "violation of patient confidentiality". I can easily prove that I did not violate it, and the reason for firing is nothing but a retaliatory move because I brought up the fact that they misrepresented my job, which I discovered later on. That's the backdrop.
When I was hired, the HR rep of my company (a private incorporated pathology group) had me sign two confidentiality documents: a confidentiality statement from the company I was employed under and who cut my checks, and a confidentiality agreement from the hospital where I physically worked. A contractual agreement obviously exists between the hospital and my company. In the hospital agreement, the boxes stated "Employee Name (Please Print)" and "Employee Signature". I signed both of course, BUT I was not an EMPLOYEE of the HOSPITAL whatsoever. I was employed by my company, so is the hospital agreement null and void? I would say so. My company's confidentiality statement should therefore be the only one that applies here, and I clearly did not violate that. If I did, HR would have said so and highlighted stuff to match the hospital confidentiality agreement. If I'm going to be fired over a patient confidentiality issue, wouldn't you think that I would violate BOTH documents??? Whether HR of my company has the authority to fire me on a hospital agreement without the hospital having any say in the matter or consulting with them or having an official investigation (of which there was not) is another issue too. But there is a technicality here that I believe makes the hospital agreement null and void (again, I was never an employee of that hospital).
Any advice would be appreciated, although I take the common man's responses with a grain of salt. I prefer actual lawyers to respond, but let me know your opinion regardless. Stating your profession before answering would help. Thank you.
3 of them said they were overwhelmed, and 2 of them just flat-out declined with no reason given whatsoever. I personally feel that the ethical thing to do would be to tell me why or if I don't have a case. That way, I can get a 2nd or 3rd opinion before throwing in the towel.
And nobody can predict how much money is in it. Jury trials can be unpredictable. Also, I can't stand these damn SHORT intake sessions. You don't have enough time to lay out all the facts when there's an abundant amount of them, and then the lawyer only sees generic stuff. To me, that's UNETHICAL to not hear a person out fully who has been clearly wronged. If I have to pay $200 to physically sit down with a lawyer face to face to discuss this where he can ask me detailed questions as I present the facts and evidence, which is honestly what needs to happen, then I will gladly do that. Be UP FRONT with me. That's all I ask and downright require. Thank you!
I absolutely have proof. In my in-person interview, the doctor explicitly told me that I am "perfectly qualified for the position and do not need certification. I am a pathologists' assistant." She also told me that it was extremely tough to find qualified people and that I was the best one to come along out of 10 other applicants. In addition, she said that she was trying to find someone for at least 3 months and she was doing all the work by herself.
So you see what happened here? They *deliberately and intentionally* lowered the qualifications and gave the job a totally different title just to cast a wider net to help the doctor out immediately. They should have still waited to get an ASCP-certified pathologists' assistant because that's the type of person who has to be doing the type of work I was doing.
And about 4 months into my employment, I discovered a job ad put out by my company for a *pathologists' assistant* that had the SAME job description as the job I applied for (literally word for word), and they listed CERTIFICATION as the requirement instead of simply a BS or AS with work experience. The misrepresentation is enormous here. At least I can prove deliberate intent here instead of honest error. And for God's sake...you're a damn medical doctor, a pathologist!! Shouldn't you know what the duties and qualifications are for a pathology-related position? Not only do we have intentional misrepresentation, but there are hints of possible negligence here as well.
And of course, I have proof that they maliciously intended to get me fired by coming up with a BS reason. I'm ready to put $50,000 up front for the entire case, period. This has to happen because this is the last hurrah for this career that I have struggled with for over 15 damn years with this certification bullsh*t that I got screwed out of.
How can anybody on this forum give you advise without knowing what the agreements you signed (one with your employer and one with the hospital) say in the fine print or what the contractual relationship between your employer and the hospital is?
Get some advice from a local labor attorney or post the documents redacting any identifying information.
My guess is that the arrangement between your employer (similar to a temp agency) places you as their employee in the hospital where you are still subject to all hospital policies. Therefore, both agreements would be valid for removal if violated.
Please let me know if I have a case here, if this falls under something else, and/or if I have additional causes of action (emotional distress certainly being one of
Unless you were not an at-will employee, no.
Also, you neglected the scienter element of fraud. Negligent misrepresentation requires that the defendant owe the plaintiff a duty of care, which isn't the case in a prospective employer/employee situation. Intentional misrepresentation would be next to impossible to prove here because there's absolutely no benefit to an employer to lie in this situation. Bringing in an employee only to fire that employee shortly after hiring and then having to hire someone new is an expensive proposition.
There's no question that there is a case here. I have absolutely no problem "shelling out that cheddar" either, as some ignoramus claimed on here.
Here we go with the blame-shifting BS. The employer put out a job description that I discovered LATER ON was false based on the title I had. Should they have known this from the get-go? YES...this was a damn healthcare company! Shouldn't you know the job duties and qualifications of different job titles? Why did I have to tell them this later on after doing research? It's THEIR job to do that, and I would have THEIR job instead!!! I was only FOLLOWING WHAT THE JOB DESCRIPTION SAID! I was also told BY THE DOCTOR that, and I quote, "You don't need certification. You're fully qualified as a Pathologists' Assistant." (Meanwhile, my job title is grossing technician). Then when I found out from HR that they had a separate salary range for the duties I was doing, I complained, they demoted me to the job duties I was supposed to do according to the job title, issued me backpay (an acknowledgement of their guilt, and I am STILL owed 3 days of backpay, BY THE WAY), I had practically no work to do anymore, and they fired me 6 days later for a BS reason, and I can prove it was a fishing expedition too (there's the malice!!)
And this one is rich. You ready for this? I discovered on February 7 (last month) that my company put out a job description on Indeed for a PATHOLOGISTS' ASSISTANT that had the SAME EXACT JOB DUTIES as the grossing technician job that I applied for back in September of last year. Those two job titles have wildly different qualifications and duties, which I discovered several months into my employment. So in other words, they INTENTIONALLY lowered the qualifications and job title in order to get someone in there quickly because the doctor was way too bombarded with work.
Something else to note regarding the reason for firing me due to "violation of patient confidentiality." Check this out... The HR rep of my company had me sign two confidentiality documents: a confidentiality statement from the company I was employed under and who cut my checks, and a confidentiality agreement from the hospital where I physically worked. In the hospital agreement, the boxes stated "Employee Name (Please Print)" and "Employee Signature". I signed both of course, BUT I was not an EMPLOYEE of the HOSPITAL whatsoever. I was employed by my company, so is the hospital agreement null and void? I would say so. My company's confidentiality statement should therefore be the only one that applies here, and I clearly did not violate that. If I did, HR would have said so and highlighted stuff. If I'm going to be fired over a patient confidentiality issue, wouldn't you think that I would violate BOTH documents??? Whether HR of my company has the authority to fire me on a hospital agreement without the hospital having any say in the matter is another issue too. But there is a technicality here that I believe makes the hospital agreement null and void (again, I was never an employee of that hospital).
This is really interesting, and I'm going to ask about the confidentiality agreements in the Contracts section on here.
P.S. I wonder how many of these people commenting are actual lawyers. My guess is none based on their ridiculous and mostly unprofessional answers.
Hello folks,
I was recently fired for an alleged "violation of patient confidentiality". I can easily prove that I did not violate it, and the reason for firing is nothing but a retaliatory move because I brought up the fact that they misrepresented my job, which I discovered later on. That's the backdrop.
When I was hired, the HR rep of my company (a private incorporated pathology group) had me sign two confidentiality documents: a confidentiality statement from the company I was employed under and who cut my checks, and a confidentiality agreement from the hospital where I physically worked. A contractual agreement obviously exists between the hospital and my company. In the hospital agreement, the boxes stated "Employee Name (Please Print)" and "Employee Signature". I signed both of course, BUT I was not an EMPLOYEE of the HOSPITAL whatsoever. I was employed by my company, so is the hospital agreement null and void? I would say so. My company's confidentiality statement should therefore be the only one that applies here, and I clearly did not violate that. If I did, HR would have said so and highlighted stuff to match the hospital confidentiality agreement. If I'm going to be fired over a patient confidentiality issue, wouldn't you think that I would violate BOTH documents??? Whether HR of my company has the authority to fire me on a hospital agreement without the hospital having any say in the matter or consulting with them or having an official investigation (of which there was not) is another issue too. But there is a technicality here that I believe makes the hospital agreement null and void (again, I was never an employee of that hospital).
Any advice would be appreciated, although I take the common man's responses with a grain of salt. I prefer actual lawyers to respond, but let me know your opinion regardless. Stating your profession before answering would help. Thank you.
3 of them said they were overwhelmed, and 2 of them just flat-out declined with no reason given whatsoever. I personally feel that the ethical thing to do would be to tell me why or if I don't have a case. That way, I can get a 2nd or 3rd opinion before throwing in the towel.
And nobody can predict how much money is in it. Jury trials can be unpredictable. Also, I can't stand these damn SHORT intake sessions. You don't have enough time to lay out all the facts when there's an abundant amount of them, and then the lawyer only sees generic stuff. To me, that's UNETHICAL to not hear a person out fully who has been clearly wronged. If I have to pay $200 to physically sit down with a lawyer face to face to discuss this where he can ask me detailed questions as I present the facts and evidence, which is honestly what needs to happen, then I will gladly do that. Be UP FRONT with me. That's all I ask and downright require. Thank you!
I absolutely have proof. In my in-person interview, the doctor explicitly told me that I am "perfectly qualified for the position and do not need certification. I am a pathologists' assistant." She also told me that it was extremely tough to find qualified people and that I was the best one to come along out of 10 other applicants. In addition, she said that she was trying to find someone for at least 3 months and she was doing all the work by herself.
So you see what happened here? They *deliberately and intentionally* lowered the qualifications and gave the job a totally different title just to cast a wider net to help the doctor out immediately. They should have still waited to get an ASCP-certified pathologists' assistant because that's the type of person who has to be doing the type of work I was doing.
And about 4 months into my employment, I discovered a job ad put out by my company for a *pathologists' assistant* that had the SAME job description as the job I applied for (literally word for word), and they listed CERTIFICATION as the requirement instead of simply a BS or AS with work experience. The misrepresentation is enormous here. At least I can prove deliberate intent here instead of honest error. And for God's sake...you're a damn medical doctor, a pathologist!! Shouldn't you know what the duties and qualifications are for a pathology-related position? Not only do we have intentional misrepresentation, but there are hints of possible negligence here as well.
And of course, I have proof that they maliciously intended to get me fired by coming up with a BS reason. I'm ready to put $50,000 up front for the entire case, period. This has to happen because this is the last hurrah for this career that I have struggled with for over 15 damn years with this certification bullsh*t that I got screwed out of.
I'm an old, retired guy that has been reading and studying the law my entire life.
How can anybody on this forum give you advise without knowing what the agreements you signed (one with your employer and one with the hospital) say in the fine print or what the contractual relationship between your employer and the hospital is?
Get some advice from a local labor attorney or post the documents redacting any identifying information.
My guess is that the arrangement between your employer (similar to a temp agency) places you as their employee in the hospital where you are still subject to all hospital policies. Therefore, both agreements would be valid for removal if violated.
