How much info can past employers hand out?

[rehab nurse]

Hello everybody...

a coworker of mine was recently fired from work, and she has absolutely no self confidence to go out and find other employment. she is an LPN, and in this area, that means you are limited to home health, or nursing homes, also agencies that staff nursing homes.

what was written on her termination papers was "series of unprofessional behaviors warranting termination". all she knows was that two letters were written in complaint against her, one from staff nurse and other an agency nurse. i won't go into all the details, as it's petty things. all i will say is she's a decent nurse, but also likes to talk too much and gets way too involved in politics in the workplace.

she is scared to death to go to another place to find a job, because she doesn't know what to say as a reason for separation from her last job. most applications are asking if she was fired, it's been so long since i've filled one out, i don't remember one ever asking that. i know they ask about criminal history, but for obvious reasons. i told her i think the only info they'll be able to release is that she is not eligible for rehire, and the dates of service and position held. am i right? she has considered just lying about ever working there, but i told her to not to.

she doesn't know what to say in an interview when a manager asks why she was terminated from last job. i am at a loss also, i had no idea what to tell her. i've had only 3 jobs in my life, and i've been at my current job 5 years, so i don't even remember my interviews. i've also never been fired, so i can't guide her very well. she had excellent evaluations, but old employer "can't seem to find them in her file" and is really giving her a hard time about getting her records.

any of you nurse managers out there who can answer these questions so i can help my friend? she's just sick over the whole situation, and i am sick over her asking me these same questions that i can't answer. i don't even know what questions are illegal/not allowed to be asked in an interview anyway. i think she's really worrying too much, as there are a lot of nursing homes in this area who will hire her, she's just too scared.

sorry for such a long post.....i know there must be someone here who knows more than i do! really want to help out my friend.

thanks!

[JGHmaleRN]

Most employers don't tell why you were fired unless it was indangerment of a pt or co-worker. But if ask the best thing is tell why you were fired. It happen to me when I was a LPN afew years ago. I I was ask why I got fired. I told the the nursemanger that was inviewing me that I got fired for telling a nursemanger where to get off her backside(did not use them words) if I was not answering lights fast enough. It turned out to be her sister-in-law that was inviewing me. Ended up working for her six years. Goes to show honsety is best. Not sure where you freind is but where in Spencer WV we need good LPNs.

[Ayvah, RN]

She should definitely put down every place where she has worked in the past, otherwise, it will be falsification of the application. Call the human resources department to ensure that the only info they give out is dates of hire and position held. This is common among many, many places. They won't even say if the person is eligible for rehire or not.

If its a complicated story why she was fired, she can just write 'will discuss in interview' under the section on the application that asks why she left the job.

[pricklypear]

rehab nurse - you are correct about what information can be given out by former employers. It is illegal to say anything more that dates of employment, position held, and if eligible for rehire. At least in the states I have lived in (which are both right to work states.) If she really doesn't know the details of exactly why she was fired, she should just give the explanation they gave her. What more can she say? If she was never reported to the board of nursing, then they were most likely personal conduct complaints - rudeness, paperwork problems, not finishing work, etc. Who knows. But I do think it's unjust of her former employer to keep the details of the complaints from her. How else will she learn if she is offending someone and not aware of it? How will she know what behavior to correct? And she doesn't get the chance to give her side.

You're a good friend. Good luck to both of you!

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Never, ever leave out past employers. This can easily come back to haunt you when you walk into a new facility and run right into a co-worker from your last job. Once this circulates back to management that you have worked somewhere that you did not list, it would look like you really do have something BIG to hide.

[steelcityrn, RN]

Because Of Numerous Complaints And Request By Employers, New Laws In Pa And Many More States Now Allowing Previous Employers To Explain How/why The Employee Was Terminated.

[rehab nurse]

i tried three times to post a reply....every time it's deleted? don't know why....

thanks everyone for your replies....

i'll quickly say that management will always win in a situation no matter who is right/wrong. and a good nurse is definately not always a good employee in management's eyes. so sad all the way around..

typed such a long reply each time!!! my fingers are sore now!

thanks to everyone...i'll let her know what i found out.

[LoriAlabamaRN]

Just from my personal experience, I've interviewed nurses and CNAs who were fired from their previous positions, and honestly as long as they are straightforward about it and don't immediately try to deny all responsibility, I certainly hire them... of course, it must not be something criminal (such as stealing from their previous employer or abuse of patients). The best thing someone can tell me when citing a reason for past termination is that they learned a strong life lesson from the experience and as such will never make the same mistakes...

Lori