Legal Question in Employment Law in California

i recently found out that my exemployer has been giving potential new employers a bad job reference about me.

they are telling them that i quit because i received a bad job performance review.

in the 11/2 years i worked for them not only did i not receive a bad job review, as a matter of fact i did not EVER receive a job review from them period.

truth is i quit !

as a matter of fact what i did get however was 4 pay increases in the time i worked for them.

i have been out of work since march 2009 & cannot afford to hire an attorney to fight them on this.

what i would like to know is.....if i personally write them a "cease and desist " letter, telling them that what they are doing is defaming my character by providing fraudulent information and that i want it to stop immediately (otherwise they are looking at a lawsuit) if you think this will work and make them stop.

i am losing money, and my livelihood along with my reputation because of these defamatory comments they are telling potential employers.

i thought it was against the law to do this type of thing. and that they are only supposed to tell my potential new employers: the dates i worked there, my beginning and ending salary and my job title.

I need a job desperately...and couldn't figure out why i was successful in job interviews and told they definitely wanted to hire me...but then would not hear back from them again.

now ive found out why.

will a cease and desist letter from me be enought to make them stop.

is there a specific form/template i can follow that would help write this letter?

thank you in advance for you help


Asked on 10/20/09, 1:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Kirschbaum Law Offices of Michael R. Kirschbaum

Employers are not limited to providing just the dates worked, job title and salary. When a former employee uses an employer as a reference, they are giving that employer permission to provide truthful information or opinions to the prospective employer. However, if the employer provides provably false information, it can be sued under California Labor Code section 1050.

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Answered on 10/20/09, 5:18 pm


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