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Can you sue a current manager whose bad job reference caused a job offer to fall through?
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Hi. I am not sure if this is worth pursuing. I applied for a job and got a verbal offer. The last step in the interview process was to provide references. The company requested a current manager. I asked my manager if he would give me a reference, and the reference he gave went badly to the point where they did not give me the job. Is there anything I can do legally?
I’m sorry to hear about your experience; that must be frustrating. Did the company provide any specific reasons for not moving forward with your application after the reference check?
They did not. I was referred to the company by a former coworker, and from talking to her, she said that what he said was too much for them to be able to overlook. I do not know the details.
Have you had any prior issues with your current manager that might have influenced their reference?
Never. When I asked for the reference, he said that he would make me look bad in the reference, but I thought it was a joke, and he didn’t say anything after that.
Is there anything else the Employment Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they’ll be able to help with your reference issue.
No.
Hi there! Welcome to our service. My name is Liz, and I’ve been an attorney for more than a decade, and I am here to assist with your legal concerns. Just so you are aware, our service is a legal information-only site. No attorney-client relationship is formed from our conversation. So I can best help, before this poor reference, were you aware of any issues at your work?
Hi Liz. There was never a problem or reason to think he would say anything bad. All of my reviews have been positive. But he was fully aware leading up to this that I was unhappy with the job and looking at other opportunities.
I understand. Were there any written policies in your workplace regarding references? This might include what information they are allowed to share or any guidelines they follow.
I honestly don’t know. He did tell me he wouldn’t get on a call with them because it was a conflict since I was still an employee, but he did email them and told me that he told them he would answer any of their questions over email if they asked him specific things.
For the coworker that referred me, I know the other manager that she asked for a reference spoke with them on the phone.
Thanks for sharing that. So this all occurred in writing then?
From what he said, yes. I talked to the hiring manager on the phone after, and she was thrown off by his email. I don’t have any details on why.
Whether you can pursue would depend on the content of that email. If your manager provided false information that harmed your reputation and led to the job offer being rescinded, this could be considered defamation. Defamation involves making a false statement to a third party that causes harm to someone’s reputation. Tortious interference occurs when someone intentionally damages the plaintiff’s contractual or other business relationships. If your manager’s actions were intended to prevent you from securing the new job, this might be relevant. If what he said was truthful, though, that can cause issues with pursuing things, even though it caused harm.
Does that make sense?
Yes, that makes sense. I truly believe it was the latter and that he didn’t want to let me leave. But I’m worried and thinking that everything he said was truthful but phrased in a way that made me look bad. And because he wouldn’t speak directly to them, it could have been interpreted in a way that didn’t put me in the best light. Up until they spoke with him, the job was a done deal, but whatever he said ruined it.
Have you escalated the issue with your HR?
No, not yet. I’ve never had anything like this happen, so I’ve just been at a loss of what to do.
Did you ask the company that retracted the offer for a copy of the reference?
No, I haven’t. I tried emailing them a few times through the process, but they kept ignoring me until they sent me an email on the expected start date that they were going a different direction. Is this something I can ask them for and something that they would provide?
You could ask them for it, although they technically don’t have a duty to provide it unless there is a court order forcing them to turn it over.
Ok, understood. I will email them to see if they would provide it and take it to HR from there. Thank you for your help.
You’re very welcome!
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