Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

If the answer provided was the truth you may not have a legal basis to sue him. However, if what he/ she said was untrue or done with the only purpose of harrassing or hindering your future employment and you did nothing wrong, you may have suffered compensable damages.

I would suggest you hire an attorney, even if for further consultation purposes, and provide more details, such as anything else said by former employer.

No. The employer is free to say anything he likes, to anyone he likes, as long as it is not false.