Legal Question in Employment Law in Kansas

Re: Retaliation by former employer?

Depending upon how large your former employer is, this may be retaliation or they may be disorganized. I'm in no position to answer for sure what they are trying to do, but I can give you suggestions about possible solutions.

The first step is to provide the verification company with proof that you were indeed employed there. I'm assuming if you just left these guys in 2005, and thus were filing a W-2 from them with your 2005 tax return in the first quarter of 2006, that you still have a copy of that W-2, which would be fairly persuasive evidence, I would think. You might also find out who the verification company is talking with and provide a copy of the W-2 to that party to "jog their memory".

If your employer is doing this intentionally, it is defamation. If you do not get the job and especially if you can show that you would have gotten it but for the untruthful "non-reference", you might have a cause of action. You might let the former employer's HR person know that you expect them to be truthful and that you will take it seriously if they are not.

Be aware that your former employer cannot legally give untruthful information (such as "he never worked here") but they can legally give truthful but unhelpful information (such as, "we do not disclose information about our former employees and thus can neither confirm nor deny this person's employment") though you may still have a case if the employer is unhelpful only in your case, but routinely gives out more complete references for other employees.

It is unclear from your question whether you are looking for help under Kansas law or Washington law. If you are not able to resolve the problem by providing proof of your former employment to the verification company or to your former employer, and you ultimately do not get the position because of that, you may want to speak to an attorney in your state (whichever one that turns out to be). More facts are needed to determine what rights you have, but it would be worth the time and cost to find out. Even if you do not still have the W-2, it would be easy enough to prove that you previously worked there, unless the former employer also failed to file the required payroll taxes for you or do the other legally required reporting.