Legal Question in Business Law in Massachusetts
Is it legal for a former employer to continue to list you as a salesman on his website, 8 years after you left the company ? I have stayed in the same field selling since leaving.
3 Answers from Attorneys
As a Franchise Attorney I can say this. Using your name on its website for their own benefit and without your consent is not legal. You should have a claim for statutory and common law commercial misappropriation. Consult with a good business or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.
Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.
Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation
Use of your name is improper if you do not represent or work for them. You should send them a cease and desist letter, requiring them to remove your name and any reference to you from their web site immediately. Give them seven days to get it done. Check and if not removed, then you can take further action.
Good Luck
I agree that sending a C&D letter is proper. It may be worth hiring a lawyer to do that for you. I know just the lawyer to refer this issue to, if you decide you want to hire someone. If a lawyer's letter costs a little money, but they remove it, isn't that better than having to hire a lawyer to force them to remove it after they ignore you?
However, you should be aware that, owing to the vagaries of the internet, the page may be "cached" so that your removal doesn't appear to have occurred. Also, Google does not always update its search engine. It doesn't simultaneously index every site.
To my mind, it is far more damaging that you could be googled at the former employer, than that your name is on their website.
Ask them to reply to you, with a letter, confirming that they have removed your name.