"Tim Kettring" <tim6kettring@e-garfield.com> wrote in message news:<2p001kFf2ia0U1@uni-berlin.de>...
What is the correct legal term for a former employer " bad mouthing " a
former employee when a new prospective employer calls to verify the employee
worked there and how good the employee was ?
I want to look up case law on the paper books at the U Law Library , and
dont know where to start . If only I had the correct legal term for
"bad-mouthing" a former good employee .
Also , should I start with state , fed case law first or only ?
Thanks for saving me time on my Legal Research if you can !
tim
Defamation?
By "bad mouthing" I take it you mean the former employer is stating
falsely that the former employee was in some way a bad employee or a
poor risk to hire. That could be defamation: slander if it is spoken,
libel if it is in writing.
State law is a good place to start looking: laws on defamation,
including laws on defamation in the context of employment references,
are state-specific.
Federal law might get involved if unlawful discrimination was
involved: for example, if the former employee was given a bad
reference just because of his or her race.
--
Not a lawyer,
Chris Green
