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I've been bullied and harassed by my former supervisor..

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I've been bullied and harassed by my former supervisor..

I reported her to HR at that time but after a little investigation HR didn't see any wrong doing and suggested that I should work on improving my relationship with her, as well as my performance, which the supervisor had claimed was an issue. After she found out that I reported her, she found a reason to terminate me.

I am still recovering physically and emotionally from all the stress caused by this situation and thinking about pressing legal charges against my former employer for allowing bullying and retaliation.

My question is - can this jeopardize my future job opportunities in case they call my former employer for employment verification?

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  1. Kristie White

    I'm honestly not sure if there are legal boundaries to references, but I know that HR has been trained to give no more than dates of employment and whether or not you are eligible for rehire because former employees may bring legal action. That being said, references don't always adhere to these rules because frankly a reference isn't worth much if that is all you get. I'm also not sure that YOU have any legal grounds for a suit. A whistleblower who reports illegal actions has protection against retaliation. I'm not sure you have protection from a vindictive boss. However, you may if you can prove wrongful termination, i.e., why did she fire you? What grounds did she use? Can you prove it was unjustified? What state do you live in - is it an employment at will state which means you can be terminated for any reason? All these are questions that impact your ability to sue. So I suspect your job search will not be impacted by any suit you are able to bring since that will likely take longer than your job search. But I would consider how you are going to explain the termination and whether or not you want anyone to contact that employer. Do you have another reference that you can use, for example. That might be a better solution no matter what.

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