I was fired from previous job

[nursepenelope]

I was fired from my previous job. I had an interview last week, but I did not divulge the fact that I had been fired. I really need this job. I am wondering if I should have been up front when they asked why I am not working there anymore. I didn't lie...I simply stated that I had some family situations that needed my full attention...which is the truth. Now I am wondering how much HR can say about me? Can they say I was fired? I was a very good employee, but a family member lied about me, and they took her word over mine. Also, the administrator was on a bit of a firing frenzy which bit him in the butt, and he ended up getting fired himself.

I live in Californa, and have been told that previous employers are not allowed to say negative things...just start date and end date. Is that true? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, nursepenelope

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Not an urban legend. I've worked for two employers that WOULD NOT say anything other than dates of employment....I seem to think it had to do more with liability, not WANTING to say anything more, rather than not being allowed to. The more they say, the more they'd have to defend if they got it at all wrong.

Again, it is an urban legend that employers CANNOT give more than hiring dates. What they CHOOSE to say or not say is an entirely different matter. Your post simply reinforces my point.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Again, it is an urban legend that employers CANNOT give more than hiring dates. What they CHOOSE to say or not say is an entirely different matter. Your post simply reinforces my point.

If it's important to you to make the distinction that they CAN say anything they can that is true, versus whether or not they'd be FOOLISH to say anything they (think) is true, then your point is made. But you remind me of a friend of mine who latches on to whether something is technically true (urban myth or not urban myth) and misses the point of the caution in the first place.

I still say that any employer who is concerned about lawsuits brought by former employees who are disgruntled and/or unhinged won't say anything more than the most basic facts: "Miss X was employed as an RN from this date to that date". So they CAN tell the person who is doing the fact-checking that there's more dirt to tell? Doesn't mean it's expected they will....as was the case for the two employers I mentioned earlier.

Urban legend or not, who cares? No employer wants to get sued (because they'd still have to deal with the lawsuit to prove what was and was not true in what they blabbed).

If the applicant has got something to hide that she hopes doesn't get found out, then she'd do better to find a graceful way of getting that very same information out there, imho. Being able to spin it yourself is so much better than having something 'get back to' the new boss.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

HRs tend to be cautious about what they say about patients because they don't want to be hit with a libel suit. So they'll stick to the facts and (usually) leave opinions, however substantiated, out of it.

Informal word-of-mouth, however, is an entirely different ball of string.

[AmaruAgent]

i know its an old post, but do you have a job now? how long did it take, what steps did you do?

[ceccia]

if you want to know what former employers and/or references will say about you to a prospective employer, get someone to call them and pretend to be checking you refs for a job. If you don't have friends in professional/business (and/or theater ) fields who can do this convincingly, you can hire someone to pose as a prospective employer and report back to you what everyone said.

If your source does uncover that a previous employer is saying negative things, a well-worded contact from an attorney can be enough to scare them into being more objective and saying less. Very few employers want to risk getting dragged into a libel suit.