Defamation Definition

[htope]

What, exactly, consitutes "defamation of character".
I ask because I was fired from a job and everyone [fellow employees] were told I quit. [Fired unjustly by the way.]
Since that time I have not been able to get a job, it seems, if my life depended on it. I suspect my former supervisor is not giving very good references. Which leads to the question: What can an ex-employer say when a prospective employer calls and checks the "last job" reference?

Thank you.

 

[cbg]

Would you have prefered your fellow employees to have been told that you were fired?

Simply put, defamation means that deliberately false statements were made and you suffered damages as a result. Telling your co-workers that you quit (rather than that you were fired) is not even remotely defamation.

A former employer can say anything that is true or that they have reason to believe is true. If you were fired, it is not illegal (and it is not defamation) to say you were fired. If they didn't like your management style, they can say that. If they didn't think your work was up to standard, they can say that. They have the right to give what they feel is an honest appraisal of your work, even if it is negative and even if you do not agree.

If you were fired for poor performance and they tell a prospective employer that you were fired for stealing, however, that's a different story.

 

[htope]

Defamation

Frankly, it was none of the other employee's business whether I quit or was fired. The only thing they need to know is that I don't work there any longer.
I was fired because they claimed a woman complained about me. [I spoke to her and she said that she did not say any such thing. In fact, she never called them, though they said she did, and they came to her asking her to file a complaint and she refused. She said if she had a problem she would talk to me about it per school policy.]
I was a dispatcher and did exactly as both supervisors directed me to. They demanded that I take a job [security guard] which, being a diabled veteran, I am not able to perform on a full time basis..
When I refused because 1) I did not "demean" the woman as they claimed 2) I was not able to perform the job on a continuing basis. [I have done the job but only about once a month because my disability [my back and broken arch] cause me to be practically bedridden for several days afterwards, and I only performed the job when they could not find someone to fill the job due to an employee calling in with an emergency or hurt at the last moment.

If I quit, as they told everyone, then it makes no sense that when I applied for another position with the school they called over and said I was insubordinate.


I always do my job per my training and according to their rules.

HT