Do I have a legal case against a former employer if they lied about the reason I left the company?
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Do I have a legal case against a former employer if they lied about the reason I left the company?
I worked for a department store chain. I was discharged after a questionable customer transaction. What happened was that I went directly to my supervisor and told her what occurred. A week later, I was called into the office and discussed the matter with the assistant store manager. A week after that, I called her only to learn I was discharged. This was 2 years ago. After filing for unemployment, the store manager said I quit my job. After several months of hearings/adjudications, the store manager was caught lying and it was determined that “claimant was discharged for reasons other than misconduct”.
Asked on July 15, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Illinois
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
So essentially the unemployment agency in your state determined that you were not discharged for misconduct. If the hearing order (see transcripts) actually says the agency found that the manager and (not or) department store essentially lied about the reason for your discharge, then you may have a case. Let's explore. The case would most likely be based on defamation (slander or libel) and would have had to be based on the initial words being you stole or committed some sort of crime while on the job. If this is all accurate so far, your next step is to determine if the statute of limitations has run on your lawsuit and if you can sue and prevail, whether any of those monies have to be returned to unemployment. Talk to an employment law lawyer (labor lawyer) and show the documentary evidence you have thus far and see what can be done?
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