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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Law & Legal |
Labor law question? |
My husband was fired from his job w/o notice. His record was impeccable but he was being accused for not following company procedures. All accusations were based on here-say and they had no real proof. My husband asked for documentation, write ups or to see his personal record. His employer denied him access to his record. Is an employee legally allowed to see his/her record? After proving to management that their accusations weren't valid they only returned to tell him that the new reason he was being terminated now was that he wasn't a good fit for the position. So, my husband applied for unemployment and they asked WHY he was let go from his job. He told them that his employer said he wasn't a good fit for the position. A week later the unemployment office calls to ask him again WHY he was let go because his employer was now saying it was because he was a safety hazard. Is any of this legal? Is this defamation? What can he do to secure his record for future jobs? Anyone has a right to see his own employment records. This company is wrong for not showing your husband his. Did the unemployment office offer any help to your husband? Try the state department of labor and see what they can do for him. If they can't help, they can direct him to someone who can. It might be a good idea to find a lawyer that specializes in labor laws too. Good luck... You have asked a lot of employment law questions in one. Question No. 1: Right To Review Personnel File You did not say what state you were in. In a majority of states, an employee does not have the right to look at his or her personnel file. This is because, at common law, a personnel file was the employer's property. A minority of states give employees the right to review their personnel files (e.g. California). If you are a public (government) or union employee, there is a greater chance you have the right to review the records. Question No. Two: Was it defamation? Communications to the unemployment office are subject to a privilege. Thus, they cannot ordinarily be defamatory. A defamatory communication would consist of the employer "publishing" (by telling other people who did not have a legitimate and privileged interest in hearing the information) false statements about your husband. Third Question: Is his firing legal? Again, it depends on the state. In most states, he would have to prove some type of actionable discrimination (e.g. race, sex, age, religion, disability), public policy tort (and this doesn't sound like one), or implied contract. Many states, by the way, don't recognize implied contracts or some of the public policy torts. |
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