Is it illegal that my former employer discussed my employment with others?

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petitfoureyes

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Basically, I'm pretty angry right now. I previously had a job in NY state, and the company had an "At-Will" employment policy - meaning employees can choose to leave at any time, without notice, for any reason. The employer can also do the same, in terms of letting an employee go. I won't go into why I left (I had good reason) but I was only doing what was in my right, which was leaving at-will. I was under the impression that it is illegal for employers to discuss any details about employees (current or former), including discussing with OUTSIDE PARTIES the situation or the details regarding why an employee left. My former employer (not sure who exactly, but think it was someone higher up) took it upon themselves to tell someone in my 'family' (they are just married to a blood relative) about my leaving, and my reason for leaving. This person is nosy and gossiping. I have since learned that she made a point to blab about this at a recent family gathering that I did not attend. I am pretty angry that my former employer told her anything at all. She works for a company that was formerly a 'sister' company of the place I worked for. Even so, I feel that it was wrong for my employment to be discussed at all. Now I wonder who else they have been telling my private business to?

Does this sound like illegal behavior to you, on the part of my former employer? Or do they have carte blanche to tell anybody ANYTHING they want about my time with the company???
I did leave for medical reasons. I am not sure how much they told her, but I tell them I was leaving and not returning due to health issues that they were well aware of.
 
The reason for such a misconception is that some people have successfully sued companies on the basis that a negative review interfered with their ability to make a livelihood. There are a few reasons why such suits were successful, to name a few:

The defendant company didn't take it seriously, leading to a default judgment.
The defendant company's attorney was inexperienced and failed to adequately represent the company.
The defendant company misrepresented the truthfullness of its evaluation of the plaintiff, or essentially embellished or lied.
The plaintiff was in a unique job description which limited his field of endeavor, and the negative review limited it even further.


Except for laws respecting certain employee information, such as health records or payroll history, there are none that prohibit the discussion of the employees performance as long as it's reasonably accurate. However, many large companies, just to avoid the possibility of litigation, simply confirm the ex-employee's work status without comment. That, alone, speaks volumes since no company has ever been sued by an ex-employee for giving a good reference.

"John Doe worked with us for 6 months and when he left, I can assure you that we were entirely satisfied!"
 
I agree with the first two answers. You indicated it was for Medical, was that disclosed to the former employee? The info they disclosed was at a private family function and they were simply discussing there issues at work. Are they liable for slander? Can you prove it?
 
This is not illegal. A person can talk about anything they please, unless it is protected by law (such as medical history or admissions to a lawyer). Just talking about someone you know, be it good, bad or indifferent, is not a crime.

You can sue for libel/slander if he made a claim that you can (A) demonstrate damaged your reputation and (B) demonstrate that he knew the claim was false. If he told the truth about what happened, you have no right to charge him with anything.
 
No, it isn't.

This is a common misconception, and I have no idea where it comes from.

Anyone at your prior company is completely free to tell anyone they want why you left, or why you were fired, so long as they tell the truth.

(The only exception would be if you left / were let go for medical reasons, and the information fell under HIPPA.)

Richard
 
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