Bad Job references

Bighulawood

New Member
Jurisdiction
Georgia
14 years ago I was "let go" by an ad agency for what they claimed was poor performance on a particular account (oddly, the liaisons of that account had just that morning sent me a letter commending my performance, but whatever).

They gave me a severance amount and had me sign a form releasing them from accountability for the termination.

Last week a recruiter I was working with confided that I'd lost a potential opportunity with a company because "someone" at the agency provided them with a negative evaluation of my performance. That evaluation could have only come from one of two people - both were aware of the release form the situation (my mgr and the HR lead of that agency).

Do I have a case?
 
Do I have a case?

What kind of case did you have in mind? There is no federal or Georgia state law that prohibits a former employer from telling a prospective employer about the former employer's experience with an applicant for a job. The former employer must be careful not to tell the prospective employer any false statement of fact about you, but any true facts and statements of opinion are fair game. If the former employer did communicate a false statement of fact and it was that statement that caused you to lose the job offer then you may have a good claim for defamation. There would be an issue though of what amount of damages you could get from that, and of course the lawsuit would cost you time and money to pursue. You'd also have to identify the particular person who made the statement and hope that the person has sufficient assets to pay any judgment you'd get.

Apart from a defamation claim, though, the facts you've shared so far don't suggest any good lawsuit here.
 
Do I have a case?

You told us that the former employer fired you (a decade and a half ago) for poor performance and that, at some unstated time in the past, you "lost a potential opportunity" because, as one would expect, the former employer that fired you for poor performance gave you a negative reference. There's at least a potential statute of limitations issue (to say nothing of the release you said you signed), but what sort of "case" do you suppose you might have?
 
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Last week a recruiter I was working with confided that I'd lost a potential opportunity with a company because "someone" at the agency provided them with a negative evaluation of my performance. That evaluation could have only come from one of two people - both were aware of the release form the situation (my mgr and the HR lead of that agency).

Do I have a case?
I don't think statute of limitations is an issue here as the defamation could have ocured two weeks ago and let's assume it did. More of an issue is what @Tax Counsel refers to which is an obligation of confidentiality. Almost all companies require a release in order to obtain an agreed upon severance. Is there an agreement which prohibits the employer and its employes from sharing the information? Very sorry for the original poster that this troubling incident occurred but there may be no remedy.
 
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