Past employer-bad reference-no jobs (new grad)-dreams dashed

[Bulgogi_Wagyu]

Hi fellow nursing colleagues.

I have just graduated from nursing school with a BSN degree (w/ honors!) three weeks ago. Life was happy for me as I got an interview for a nurse aid/tech float pool position at a great hospital that I really want to work at, in the middle of April. This was due to a job fair that this particular hospital was holding at a local elementary school back in January. I have also volunteered over 300 hours of working for various departments at this hospital prior to (even during high school!), and during my nursing school years. Right out of school last month, I have also applied to several other hospitals in my area to work as a nurse aid/tech, since you have to go this nurse aid/tech route in order to even apply for a new RN graduate program (and I'm talking about HI nursing work environment).

As of now, I am still studying and prepping real hard for the upcoming NCLEX-RN exam. I am still awaiting my ATT.

About two months before I started nursing school, which was back in 2012, I was working as a part-time sales associate for a clothing department store at a local mall. After two semesters of nursing school has passed by, I said to myself, "hey, why are you working at a department store, when you should be doing something more related to nursing?" Prior to the summer after my third semester of nursing school, I have applied for a summer internship at a local hospital. I got a call to interview for this summer internship at the hospital. After the interview, i honestly felt bummed out, because I thought I screwed up. However, I got a call the following week, where the hospital offered me a position as a summer intern for one of their med-surg. units.

I didn't even expect myself to even get into this summer internship program.

Hence, I applied for a CNA job at an assisted living/long-term care facilities for elderly people. Did the background check, and eventually got hired to work at this long-term care facility. They expected me to work full time, but with the summer internship hire, I eventually had to only work on weekends at this long-term care facility, since I had my hospital internship Mondays-Fridays.

My hospital internship went well, and completed the last day of this internship, in middle of August of last year.

The long-term care facility job as a CNA, HOWEVER,....turned out to be a bullying work environment, and complete NIGHTMARE where my complaints to the DON about certain co-workers and their un-professional behavior towards some of the residents, back-fired on me. Things deteriorated about one-month after starting the job at this long-term care facility. I was one of two male CNA's, and the only non-Filipino CNA in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) at this assisted living place.

I also recalled one of the scheduling manager who was also mean to me. There was one instance where she told me to come in at 2PM for computer training. This was one week after I started working at the assisted living center. When I arrived at 1:30PM at her office, she said, "oh sorry, but you were supposed to go to the other facility." It would have been great if she was more specific.

Getting back to the co-workers, some of them would make me do all the work, and when it was the end of shift, some of them would order me to take so-and-so to the restroom, while they all clocked out and left. I was really ****** off. So I typed out a complaint to the manager and the DON. I mistakenly included "Mr. So-and-so" (I actually wrote his lastname) in my typed out complaint to the DON, and guess what? She wrote me up for HIPAA violation.

It got to a point where one day, towards the end of my time working at this assisted living facility, where I asked another CNA to help me transport a resident from the bathroom, back to the dining area, because she had to use the restroom while eating her breakfast. She also suffered a stroke, so she couldn't walk. The other CNA simply said, "lalalala, do your own ****" and walked off. Then she started to converse in Tagalog/Filipino language with another Filipino co-worker. It's also against facility policy to speak a foreign language other than English, outside of the break room. Also, mind you, this resident whom I had to transport is a heavy resident. Just because I'm a male, doesn't mean that I can fully lift her up with one arm and change her soiled diaper, and then place her in the wheelchair.

I then met with the DON in her office that morning, since I worked the overnight shift that day, and explained to her everything. She said to submit her a typed out complaint.

I had to work the following day, night shift again, so I showed up to work at around 11:30PM, just before the midnight shift began. The nurse on duty gave me stink eyes, and three CNA's were giggling at me. Another co-worker, and LPN whom I worked with and got along with well, told me that i wasn't supposed to come in to work. HUH?!!! Nobody told me this, because on the schedule print-out, it clearly stated that I had to work that night shift. So I called the manager's house,...remember the scheduling manager I have mentioned earlier in this post, who told me to come in for computer training, and then told me that training is cancelled when I arrived at her office? Well, I called her cell phone, didn't care if it was almost midnight, because I was infuriated that I drove one hour, 17 miles, from my house to go to work, wasted my time and gas, only to be told to go home. Rather than apologize to me, she said, "oh well, that's not my problem" and slammed the phone on me.

The following morning, I reported all of this to the DON and also emailed the HR manager, regarding the scheduling manager. HR manager called me and told me to come to the facility that afternoon at around 3PM. Arrived at the facility, and sat down in the conference room with the DON of the SNF unit, and the HR manager. HR manager then handed me a letter and told me that I was terminated from working at the facility. I was really stunned, and enraged at the same time. But I kept my composure, and asked them why the scheduling manager is not being talked to, and why other CNA's have been ostracizing me. Basically, my questions fell on both deaf ears. They both said that my remaining pay-check will be mailed to me. I didn't want to waste time and argue with them. So I asked the HR manager that if I apply for a job in the future, what will you disclose to the potential employer. She said quote-in-quote, "I will only disclose your position, the dates you were employed with us, and maybe, your hourly wage, But nothing else will be disclosed."

Hence, I would not mind listing this long-term assisted living facility on future applications of places that I have previously worked. Plus this is the only job where I worked as a CNA, and although a long-term assisted living center, it's better than having no CNA or nursing-related job experience.

When I was filling out my online application for this hospital that I really really want to work at, i listed this long-term assisted living facility, along with department store job, and the summer internship job at another hospital.

For the reference section of my online application, I only listed my nursing school instructor, the nurse manager of my summer internship program, and the manager of the volunteer program at the hospital I'm trying to work at.

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Fast forward to last week, I called up the HR office of the hospital where I want to work as a tech in the float pool department. I was curious as to what was going on with the background check process of my application, as it was taking loner than usual for them to get back to me. The hospital HR office secretary called me back, and told me that the background check company contacted all places that I've worked at.

Guess what? The secretary told me that the long-term care center trashed me, and gave me bad ratings across the board.

She also had a tone of voice where she thinks the HR nurse recruiter manager at this hospital I want to work at, will take back their initial nurse aid/tech job offer.

Sorry guys, but I am fuming with anger right now. I didn't know that the HR manager of the long-term assisted living facility would stab me in the back, and lie to me that she will only disclose my position and dates of employment.

Honestly, I feel that my reputation with the HR office of the hospital I want to work for, has been slandered by whoever from the long-term assisted living facility responded to the background check company.

I am jumping the gun right now, and I don't know the final decision of my job offer yet. However, i am pretty sure that my job offer will be rescinded.

If that happens, then I cannot eventually apply for the new graduate RN program, because it's only offered to in-house/current employees of the hospital.

All my dreams and hope of eventually working as a future RN for this hospital has gone down the toilet because of the negative job report/reference from a previous employer who has also tormented and bullied me.

What can I do?

My parents and I are thinking of hiring an employment attorney to iron this out. Because I was expecting this job, I have a wife and a child to feed, and have nursing school-related student loans that needs to be paid starting July!

I also called and met with the HR manager of the assisted living center (she still works there) yesterday. She "swears to God" that she didn't disclose negative information about my work performance. The finger pointing then goes to the main company's HR office. She said she will call the main company's HR office to find out, and then will call me back. She called me back yesterday, and told me nobody from the main company's HR office gave out bad/false reference about me.

Something is not adding up here, but my reputation with this dream hospital has already been tarnished by the long-term care facility. I am also guessing that i will not get the nurse aid/tech job. Hence, my hopes of even applying for this hospital's new graduate RN program is dashed, and I will have no money to feed my family and start paying my student loans.

Please feel free to talk about your guys' past experience with negative job references, and how were you able to find a nursing job?

Did some of you seek legal help in this kind of situation??

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I don't see how seeking legal help would be productive. Learning how to "play well with others" would probably be a better use of your time. You seem more than capable, and some (or all) of your complaints about your co-workers may have been valid ...but you went into that job as one of many CNAs- not as a manager or an honor student.

Even in a horrible job, you should keep your head low and aim to get out unscathed. Nursing is a small world, and people talk ...even when it's not "official" and on the record.

Good luck to you.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

You could potentially sue them if you can prove that the claims are untrue and prevented you from getting the job. Is it worth the money? That is up to you. I had a coworker who successfully sued a business for slander however I imagine more people are out of luck.

I woudn't. I would consider leaving it off the record if possible. If they find out about it later, explain what you just said. I have left jobs off my history due to bad experiences.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I fail to see how legal help would be anything but expensive. It seems that you just didn't get along with your co-workers, didn't fit in as a team member in your workplace. Frequently "reporting" or complaining about others is probably a huge factor. As noted above, it seems your time would be better spent learning to work well with others.

You made multiple mistakes in getting along with others at your previous job -- calling a manager at home at midnight is something best done with the utmost humility and apology, and it didn't sound as if that was your attitude when you called her. Complaining about others "being mean to you" only makes you look as though you cannot get along with others. The best practice is to try to work things out with your colleagues before you would ever resort to involving a manager, yet from your post it seems that you complained multiple times about your co-workers. Of course your complaints about long-term employees back fired on you! Why would the manager believe you, the new guy, over trusted long-term colleagues? And now you want to hire an attorney to straighten things out for you? I suspect that will only make things worse. Who wants to work with the guy who might sue them if they tick him off?

Please take some time for self-examination and reflection. YOU created these problems, you need to understand how you did so and what you need to do differently next time. Good luck!

[Bulgogi_Wagyu]

I don't see how seeking legal help would be productive. Learning how to "play well with others" would probably be a better use of your time. You seem more than capable, and some (or all) of your complaints about your co-workers may have been valid ...but you went into that job as one of many CNAs- not as a manager or an honor student.

I have had great job experiences in the past. It's just that working at this long-term facility turned out to be a night mare. I had complaints about some of the co-workers because while I offer them my help when they need it, such as transporting a heavy client from bed to wheelchair, they did not offer me help. Some of them also giggled and laughed at me while talking in filipino language, which they are not supposed to do. I know I know, I should have resigned when the waters were getting rough. I also was honest enough to fill out the paperwork that I had to do for the SNF unit, after getting terminated.

However, what ****** the hell out of me is that the HR manager specifically told me that if I were to list their facility as a place where I used to work at on future job applications, she would only disclose my position, and dates of employment, and maybe my hourly wage. Nothing else. However, if she told me otherwise, i would not have listed this long-term facility on my job application.

When I met with her two days ago, she claimed that when the background check company called her, she only disclosed my dates of employment and position, nothing else. She then called the main company's HR office in the downtown area to find out who mentioned bad reference about me. She called me back, and to probably save the company's rear-end, she told me that she doesn't know who mentioned bad reference about my job.

[Bulgogi_Wagyu]

You could potentially sue them if you can prove that the claims are untrue and prevented you from getting the job. Is it worth the money? That is up to you. I had a coworker who successfully sued a business for slander however I imagine more people are out of luck.

I have no idea what the people in the HR of the previous long-term care facility, told the background check company.

When I called the HR office of the hospital I want to work at, and spoke to the secretary, she's the one who gave me the heads up that every previous employer that I have listed on my job application gave me good ratings. It's just that the long-term care facility gave bad ratings and trashed my reputation. That is when I explained to the HR office secretary about a fall incident that happened on my shift. Then she told no, that it's not due to that incident. I was, and still am infuriated that I will not get the nurse aid job, after i worked my rear-end off volunteering many hours at the hospital, studying hard in nursing school, getting STT nursing membership, etc.

I hope I don't sound like a racist bigot, but all the CNA's and even the scheduling manager at that facility are filipino people. I am not of filipino background, and also one of three men who worked there. I felt like they've discriminated against me, and even talked behind my back in their own language while on shift, which is against the institute's protocol.

Oh well, now I know that if the waters get rough at work, then I should immediately fill out the resignation paper. No sense to strive and continue to work with co-workers who try to dump their workload on you, and use/abuse you, because you're a "newbie" working in their department or facility. I had an inkling/gut feeling that I should have filled out the resignation form, didn't do so.

I woudn't. I would consider leaving it off the record if possible. If they find out about it later, explain what you just said. I have left jobs off my history due to bad experiences.

As I have mentioned in my previous post to Pangeae, the HR manager at the long-term care facility told me on my last day, that she will only disclose my work position, the dates of employment and my wage rate. Nothing else. Had she and the DON told me upfront honestly that they will disclose anything they can, then I would not have listed this previous work experience. Plain and simple.

But the damage has been done to my reputation via slander, as I cannot work for this dream job at this hospital that I have always wanted to work for. Not to mention that this hospital is one of the few hospitals in my area that has a new graduate RN training program. There are other departments within this hospital that I can submit job applications to, because I have volunteered in those departments. However, I still have to go through door #2, which is the background check via the hospital's HR office contracted company. Hence, I am totally screwed of my entire nursing career straight out of nursing school, won't get ANY employment at this hospital (pretty much black listed, put it that way), have my family to feed, my folks are/MUST retire soon, and I have mortgage payments to take over after my parents retire.

How will the long-term care facility compensate me for the job loss and lack of income that I will have soon have? How will I start paying off my nursing school student loan debt? My family to feed, where is the $$$ going to come from?

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

The long term care facility WON'T be compensating you for potential loss of income & work if what they stated to the background check company is in fact true. Sometimes even being terminated for cause with a HIPAA violation write up (as you admitted) combined with insubordination towards the scheduling manager (you admit you didn't care if you were unprofessional in calling her after midnight on her cell to complain) is sufficient to declare you as a no-hire.

There is no compensation if the truth is communicated to potential employers & background companies.

If they reported that you lacked professionalism and chronically complained about coworkers and supervisors, based upon your statements above, it would be truthful not libel or slander. A potential nurse tech needs to show professionalism. Your "distaste" for a particular ethnic group is apparent in your commentary here. You seem to blame your lack of professionalism on others.

Why didn't you confirm the location if the computer training rather than holding a grudge against the scheduler?

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

First, did they talk to HR or did they talk to the manager? What number did they put down?

HR is usually more careful with what they tell people than the manager so if the HR was genuinely shocked, I would lean towards a manager or someone acting as a manager said things about you. I would also look into seeing whether you can receive a copy of the background check to see what information was said. Some will let you and others will not.

http://undercoverlawyer.hubpages.com/hub/Employee-Rights-Can-I-Sue-My-Former-Employer-For-Giving-Bad-References

It may be worth it to write off your losses and move on to another hospital. While it sucks having your dream job taken from you, it may be better to try another system.

[BlueDevil, DNP]

If HR at the 'dream hospital' gets wind of the idea that you will litigate, or threaten to litigate, employment conflicts there is no way in hades they would ever hire you anyway. An applicant that told me this story, and mentioned involving an attorney would be immediately suspect and disqualified. I don't need personnel headaches- I need reasonable people who get along. You might be told they are "going in a different direction," had "more qualified candidates," or that you "weren't a good fit." They would never tell you that you aren't being offered the position because they suspect you are going to be a huge pain in the caboose to any place that hires you. And that is probably totally unfair, as I'm sure you wouldn't be any such thing. But the reasonable fear would be there. In short, it is time to come up with a new dream and look at different options.

[Bulgogi_Wagyu]

If HR at the 'dream hospital' gets wind of the idea that you will litigate, or threaten to litigate, employment conflicts there is no way in hades they would ever hire you anyway. An applicant that told me this story, and mentioned involving an attorney would be immediately suspect and disqualified. I don't need personnel headaches- I need reasonable people who get along. You might be told they are "going in a different direction," had "more qualified candidates," or that you "weren't a good fit." They would never tell you that you aren't being offered the position because they suspect you are going to be a huge pain in the caboose to any place that hires you. And that is probably totally unfair, as I'm sure you wouldn't be any such thing. But the reasonable fear would be there. In short, it is time to come up with a new dream and look at different options.

I will not litigate the hospital of where I want to work. My folks and I plan to litigate against the long-term facility that slandered my reputation and terminated me because of my complaints against co-workers, as well as for whistle-blowing against a co-worker who was mistreating one of the elderly residents.

I don't know yet, so I don't want to jump the gun. I still haven't heard back from the hospital's HR office.

What do you mean by new dream? There is no way in hell that I am going to start a new non-nursing career. I've invested my time and my folks' money into going to nursing school. I also have student loans to pay back soon. Had the long-term care facility only disclosed my employment dates and position, this hoopla wouldn't have happened.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

It's not slander if the statements are truthful.

[Bulgogi_Wagyu]

First, did they talk to HR or did they talk to the manager? What number did they put down?

I don't know whom the background check company spoke to. The hospital that I want to work at, hires a background check company that makes the phone calls to references, as well as previous places I have worked at. Had the long-term care facility been up-front and honest about disclosing everything of my work history, then I wouldn't have listed them.

According to the HR manager who hired me last year, she "swears to God" that she only disclosed my employment dates and position,...nothing else. She said that she will call the other HR office and find out. When she called me back, she said "Oh, I called the other HR office, and they don't know who leaked out the information." They are obviously now are trying to cover their rear-ends from a litigation.

HR is usually more careful with what they tell people than the manager so if the HR was genuinely shocked, I would lean towards a manager or someone acting as a manager said things about you. I would also look into seeing whether you can receive a copy of the background check to see what information was said. Some will let you and others will not.

Employee Rights: Can I Sue My Former Employer For Giving Bad References?

It may be worth it to write off your losses and move on to another hospital. While it sucks having your dream job taken from you, it may be better to try another system.

ApplesxOranges, I will definitely get a hard copy of the background check report, once I hear the final decision from the hospital's HR office. So far, no word from the hospital's HR office personnel as of today. I however, I did contact a few employment attorneys' offices in my area regarding the slander and bad reference given out by whoever the background check company communicated with at the long-term facility's main HR office.

I have applied to other hospitals in my area and *ugh* listed that long-term care facility as a previous place of employment. So I am guessing that the long-term care facility has screwed me over big time with my job application for the hospital that I want to work at, as well as other medical facilities where I've submitted online job applications to.

Right now, I am so depressed and not-focused that I cannot really study for my NCLEX-RN as well. =(

Overall, thanks for your empathy and great advice, applesxoranges. I can tell you are a successful nurse, or will be a successful nurse (if you've recently started to work), as you come off as a very understanding person.