Legal Question in Employment Law in Texas

I was fired from my job for a verbal conversation with the salon manager. I filed for unemployment and was awarded my claim with the indication that there was misconduct by me, but it did not affect my work there. I recently made application with another salon(Pro-Cuts) and was told by staff at the former salon that Pro Cuts called and spoke with the salon manager and she advised that I was a bad worker. There was also indication that another reference check was made with the same information beign given. I never received an write ups for my job performance. I did not get the job at Pro Cuts, and did not receive a call back from them. Another job site advised that they could not hire me based on a job reference. Do I have any actions that I can take.


Asked on 1/21/10, 8:13 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brent Sykora The Gilbreath Law Firm, PLLC

Any statements that are untrue may be worthy of a defamation claim. Unfortunately, the reality is that a defamation claim is not really worth the damage award you would probably receive in turn, and, it may be of little use to resolving your current problem.

Contact an attorney. Have that attorney contact the company and request a "neutral reference." What will happen is that the two sides will designate a person who will then be the "go to" person on reference calls. That person will only provide neutral information to anyone who calls. Neutral information is any information that is objective and unrelated to the cause of your termination, so, the dates of your employment and termination will be given and that's it. There is still a chance that the requesting salon may ask if you are eligible for rehire. Those issues can be negotiated with your former salon's attorneys. Most places do not mind extending non-monetary requests to former employess, but it does help to have an attorney involved.

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Answered on 1/26/10, 1:19 pm


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