Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia
Malicious Intent?
About a year ago, the company I worked for hired an account manager I'll call Sue. Before Sue came to work here she was a (good) vendor rep for our store, and she was a long time friend with our store manager. Before coming to work here, Sue had been looking for another job as a rep, and she had given our store manager name as a reference. One day, I over her the store manager responding to a call from a potential employer for Sue. I over heard the manager say that ''she didn't think Sue was a good choice because she didn't have the drive or the ''get up and go'' for sales. A few weeks later, the manager anounces that Sue would be working with us! It's important to note that I'd overheard the manager and the store owner speak disparagingly about Sue before this. It's also important to note that the manager had been looking for a new account manager for some time, and not been able to fill the position.
Since then, their treatment of Sue has gone from bad to worse-- cutting her territory, taking away commisions-- none of it deserved in my estimation. Does she have a case against them.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Malicious Intent?
"Does she have a case against them",
you ask, for what, defamation? I would say no.
(These kinds of telephonic exchanges between employer and prospective employers are not all that uncommon.)