Do I have rights? libel per se

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Nov 3, 2013

Most employers only state dates of employment, salary & whether eligible for rehire. However it is a misconception that employers cannot reveal other information as long as the information is truthful. Most companies prohibit specific details as a matter of policy not a matter of law.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2013

I am so sorry you are going through this...((HUGS))

Depending on the state you live in you may have rights to you employment record. State Laws on Access to Your Personnel File | Nolo.com

State Laws on Access to Personnel Records
This chart deals with only those states that authorize access to personnel files. Generally, an employee is allowed to see evaluations, performance reviews, and other documents that determine a promotion, bonus, or raise; access usually does not include letters of reference, test results, or records of a criminal or workplace violation investigation. Under other state laws, employees may have access to their medical records and records of exposure to hazardous substances; these laws are not included in this chart.

But believe me...there won't be any information there that will incriminate the employer. While you might not have been directly instructed about company policy ans e-mail...you are responsible for it. When you consent to be employed and sign all that paper work ....included is that you have been given and employee hand book and the burden of reading it is upon you.

Libel or slander is difficult to prove and you need to consult a lawyer....Laws - Law, Lawyer, Attorney, Law Firms, Legal Information you are considering consulting a lawyer I suggest you keep this off of social media.

If you are in an orientation or probationary period they can fire you for what ever they wish.

As per the terms of Service we cannot offer legal advice.

KristenHuerta · Nov 3, 2013

well if I don't list them I'm back to new grad status.. if I do list them I hit nurse that lost her first job status. it's probably my hormones making me feel worse than I should about this but I know I provided excellent patient care and seeing otherwise out of whatever reason they said it sucks..

KristenHuerta · Nov 3, 2013

that's just it I requested my personnel file, they didn't give me any of the proper paperwork, they never gave me a handbook, and I never signed anything staying I got a handbook. I know I'm just running in circles at this point and just need to accept the loss, learn to be distrustful of any future coworkers because they'll throw you under the bus for laxing your residents when they ask you not to... I would never post this to facebook or anything I'm coming here for advice and I appreciate all of the feedback I'm getting, I'm taking this as a lesson learned better now than later

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2013

Yes it does suck....and I'm so sorry. It is a hard lesson learned....((HUGS)) Tell your next employer it was not a good fit and with the baby coming you parted ways.

while allnurses is anonymous (if you don't use your real name) it is public and can be viewed by anyone.

priorities2 · Nov 3, 2013

I agree, except you probably don't even need to say that it wasn't a good fit. If you're pregnant that's reason enough - you decided that it would be better to stay home at that time.

KristenHuerta · Nov 3, 2013

thank you for all the help

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Nov 3, 2013

If you received a pay check there are records of your employment. You are better off listing the employment, especially if an application states ALL prior employment. Background checks may include information about prior employment. You don't want to lose a future job or be dismissed from another new grad program for falsifying your application. Some new grad programs specify less than 6 or 12 months experience working as a nurse.

There are many resources how to include a job that you were terminated from in resumes and job applications.

LaRN · Nov 3, 2013

If someone who has been a guest in your home sends emails to your friends and family telling them not to eat your food because it's contaminated with bacteria, I doubt you would allow them back in your home.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Nov 4, 2013

Sorry that this happend to you! Always remember, no matter how well intended, don't ever send a mass email on your own. Always have conversation with risk management first, and let them go from there. I know you meant well, however, this goes a bit over the top for a new employee to do, even under the thought process of protecting your coworkers. Seems weird if you are new to nursing, however, chain of command is huge in this business. Even to have your charge nurse speak with dietary would be an alternate solution.

If you have malpractice insurance, they can offer you some direction. Otherwise, consult an attorney so that you can perhaps apply for unemployment benefits. Not meant to be legal advice, just a thought. And don't be subjective--if you don't have a copy of your personnell file, then you can not be certain what is/is not in it.

Finally, if you feel that you have untrue statements that question your safety as a nurse, there are ethics hotlines that are part of your parent company, and can be found at the website of same. But be mindful, it COULD be claimed unethical that information was sent via mass email from what source? That may or may not be accurate. And it could come back on you. In the future, even an incident report will get this information into the hands of risk management for further investigation and resolution.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 4, 2013

I believe I have suffered libel per se. I was terminated and the causes for termination were untrue, and with that in my employee fall no one will want to hire me in the future.. I feel like I've been black balled...They only trained me for two Weeks because they were short staffed and needed me immediately. it's even written in my personnel file I was to be trained for 4 weeks
2 weeks day
2 weeks on nights
And they went.back and crossed out and edited the paper after the termination meeting because I brought that up, as to hide the fact they didn't provide me with proper training.
I never received any verbal written or any warnings for the "causes" of termination they are allegating and proper protocol for discipline requires there to be corrective action/ counseling and record of it, me signing acknowledging what I need to work on.. none of this ever happened.
I believe I was truly let go because I sent an email after receiving information that the company that provided out food had a major call due to listeria. In the email I included the information from the recall which included signs and symptoms and that.listeria is particularly dangerous is pregnant women and elderly. I advised until we had it contained that the.pregnant employees avoid eating here just to be safe (we get free meals anyway so they didn't lose money) I also stated to watch the residents for signs and symptoms of potential/possible infection. I thought I was doing the right thing by informing the employees of the recall. the next day I received an email requesting a probationary hearing then the following week after letting me work 2/3 of my shifts, I had my meeting and was immediately terminated.
They wrote down 4 other causes for termination other than.just the email and now I feel my career is literally going to be affected from now on.. It was my first nursing job, I don't want to have to omit that I worked there because I don't want to be dishonest with future employers, but after they find out I was let go I feel like no one will listen to me or believe that they made up the causes for termination..
again there are no disciplinary actions in my file whatsoever! this was completely out of left field.
None of my hiring paperwork they even gave me was the correct paperwork. they had me fill out CNA paperwork and policies, I never received nursing hiring paperwork and/or policies. They also never gave me a handbook. Anyway, none of my paperwork in my personnel file is signed by the administrators acknowledging I passed training, had they read and signed it they would have realized they never provided me proper paperwork.

Yes, you were probably terminated for sending that email. I cannot even conceive of what would make you think that was a GOOD idea. As for the rest . . . there may be no disciplinary actions in your file, but there may be complaints. And if you were still on probation, they don't even need that. And here you are, on a public internet site, telling us the details of your employment fiasco and asking what you should tell potential future employers. You've already told potential future employers everything you've done wrong . . . you're using your real name as a screen name.

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2013

Okay, I don't want to sound mean here, but you showed very poor judgment sending out a mass email, and you're showing it again by divulging all these details on the internet, using your real name.

...and, correct me if I'm wrong, (and this is not to be taken as legal advice) but it's libel if the statements are published, like as in publicly, like as in a newspaper, or maybe an internet forum? This was private communication between you and your employer.