Advice for friend who was terminated...

[dacrunkest]

Hey, all.

When I was in a training session in Los Angeles in January a colleague and friend of mine was fired from the company for being intoxicated at the hotel that the company has a strong business relationship with, and for starting a fight with the lobby bartender, getting kicked out of the lobby restaurant, and then starting a fight with a hotel security guard. He has a problem, and he is getting help for it.

Nonetheless, his non-alcohol related problem is this: he has been applying for jobs, one at a highly respected insurance company (much more highly respected than mine) and has been honest about why he was terminated from his previous job. He is living with his folks in the meantime trying to get his life back on track. However, he has not gotten much in the way of responses (and he has gone on several interviews in that last two months).

Also, he called the HR people for my company (the one that terminated him) and an HR person told him that when prospective employers call, they tell them straight out that he was terminated and for what reason. Isn't this illegal? Maybe I am wrong on that...just was wondering.

Should he continue, in his job search efforts, to be 100% honest about why he was terminated from his last job (and keep in mind that it was a really bad situation)? He is my friend and I stand by him, but I also don't fault the company for terminating him. There were previous warnings. Plus, he just was not ready at that time to handle working (and being on the road, representing the company, etc.) with some of the dependency/alcoholism problems he was facing. He needed help, and this was just the wakeup call.

And thoughts/advice would be much apprec.

[Bman120]

I think he should still be honest just because things have a way of getting around and there is no guarantee he could keep why he was fired quiet and if it comes out in the wrong way, it'll only make things worse for him.

But i'd seriously think about looking into wether discussing the reason for termination is legal. I remember hearing from someone that that sort of thing is confidential but then that may not be right so i'd check.

[TinyDancer]

I think that technically, companies can give the reason for termination. . . but due to lawsuits and such, most companies are not comfortable doing so. Most companies will just give dates of employment when you call.

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure it's perfectly legal to disclose.

I am not advocating your friend lying. . . but he doesn't necessarily have to go into all the nitty-gritty details either. It sounds like it may come out regardless though so I think he has to be prepared for that.

[steve sperd]

http://www.solarnavigator.net/images/terminator_robot.jpg :question:

[dacrunkest]

http://www.solarnavigator.net/images/terminator_robot.jpg :question:

thanks. :googly:

[wordsmith]

'Bye, Steve. :rolleyes:

[dacrunkest]

'Bye, Steve. :rolleyes:

She puts her foot down. Women with authority...sexy :).

[wordsmith]

Hear me roar. Now, back to your regularly scheduled helpful thread.

[cache]

This situation is tricky. Typically, I advise people that former employers will not disclose negatives about you. However, in this situation, it is too well documented, and was witnessed by probably too many people for your friend to have much ground to stand on should he chose a defamation lawsuit. In other words, the situation that led to the termination was pretty objective....not like a subjective negative performance review.

Because a former employers rights differ in every state, I would advise him to consult an employment/labor lawyer for the best path forward. He will probably just have to deal with it until time does its thing...

[fxskier]

My advice would be for your friend to spend a few hundred dollars and consult with an agressive employment attorney. A letter from an attorney should stop the company from disclosing such information. If your friend is currently seeking treatment for a problem, and negative references (whether true or not) are preventing him from obtaining employment, the company is directly putting your friend in an adverse situation. Issues like this usually wouldn't end up in court, but as a general rule no large, reputable company would do anything other than confirm dates of employment if warned.

I'm not sure about the exact legalities regarding this matter, but if the company isn't breaking the law, they are certainly pushing it's limits.

After consulting with an attorney, I would use a reference checking service to follow-up. Google would yield plenty of hits on such services.

[puncherofdonkey]

Like someone above said, for the company to flat-out disclose the reasons for termination; they must have some extremely air-tight evidence/documentation.

Assuming this is the case; I'd actually be proactive with potential employers. Tell them,
"I was young, I was an idiot, I've realized I have problems with alcohol and I'm seeking help for it."
There's no use denying or trying to hide it. If the insurance business is like most; it's very incestuous and someone knows someone who knows someone...and the truth will come out. It's better to play spin-doctor.

That way, the new employer already has his side of the story and they won't be surprised by calling the previous one.
Unfortunately for him (though I have little sympathy for something self-inflicted); the main thing that'll help his situation is time.