I just found out that I got laid off and they are giving me a 3 month package of my same salary. They want me to sign papers saying I won't sue them in order to get the 3 months pay. When a new employer calls for references, will they say I was terminated or what can they legally say?

They can say the truth of exactly what happened, unless your written agreement restricts what they can say.

If you were laid off, they can say laid off, if you were fired, they can say fired. They can give the cause. As long as it is the truth they can tell it. That is unless you have some written agreement that they can not tell certain info as part of your termination agreement.

I'm confused. You are being laid off, but they are giving you a severance package of 3 months salary. To get the 3 months salary you have to sign a waiver saying you won't sue. This sounds VERY fishy.

First, layoffs generally don't involve severance. Layoffs are usually temporary due to a business downturn. To get severance, especially a three month package sounds a lot more like a termination to me.

Second, why would they be concerned you would sue them? Generally they can terminate your employment anytime they want to unless you are covered by an employment contract. So why would they be afraid you might sue?

There has to be more to this than you are saying.

It depends on where you live as well. I was HR in CT & NY and we were not allowed to say anything other then the dates the person worked and the title they held - we could not even say salary information, etc.

If you have an employment contract or any other document you signed when you took the job I would read that VERY carefully as well as this new document you are signing. You'd be surprised how many people are surprised at all the rights they sign away in some employment letter.

I'm confused. You are being laid off, but they are giving you a severance package of 3 months salary. To get the 3 months salary you have to sign a waiver saying you won't sue. This sounds VERY fishy.

First, layoffs generally don't involve severance. Layoffs are usually temporary due to a business downturn. To get severance, especially a three month package sounds a lot more like a termination to me.

Second, why would they be concerned you would sue them? Generally they can terminate your employment anytime they want to unless you are covered by an employment contract. So why would they be afraid you might sue?

There has to be more to this than you are saying.

They did say termination due to the elimination of my territory. There is not enough business to justify a sales rep so they let me go and are giving me a package if I sign papers that says I was not wrongfully let go or discriminated against due to age, Race Gender etc... a whole 20 pages of legal stuff saying I can't sue them later if I take the package. What can they say if my new employer calls for reference to see why I left?

It depends on where you live as well. I was HR in CT & NY and we were not allowed to say anything other then the dates the person worked and the title they held - we could not even say salary information, etc.

If you have an employment contract or any other document you signed when you took the job I would read that VERY carefully as well as this new document you are signing. You'd be surprised how many people are surprised at all the rights they sign away in some employment letter.


This is the state of CA. Do you know the laws of this state. Can they say I was terminated when new employers calls for reference or will they just give the date I started and the date I left and title?

What can they say if my new employer calls for reference to see why I left?

In all my years in HR no one really asks this question. In a situation like yours an HR rep will probably say they cannot commit. If it's a reference they call they might say something like "you knew it was time to move on". However, if you live in a state where they are allowed to say why you left they will tell the truth - they will probably say you were laid off due to lack of work. Legally, no employer is allowed to say anything disparaging when a new employer calls for a reference.

All they can legally say is that you worked for them and if you were terminated or freely quit on your own. That's it. They cannot give you a bad reference to prevent you from getting a job, or legal action can be taken against them. I do not know the legal terminology for this law, but this is what they go by in Florida.

This is the state of CA.


Oh man I wish you would have said it was in CA all along. Kiddo you are COVERED. CA has the MOST progressive employment laws in the US. They cannot say anything other then dates worked and title. That's it. CA has laws up the wazoo to protect employees. You are so okay. Please do not worry about anything.

All they can legally say is that you worked for them and if you were terminated or freely quit on your own. Thats it. They cannot give you a bad reference to prevent you from getting a job, or legal action can be taken against them. I do not know the legal terminology for this law, but this is what they go by in Florida.


Oh man I wish you would have said it was in CA all along. Kiddo you are COVERED. CA has the MOST progressive employment laws in the US. They cannot say anything other then dates worked and title. That's it. CA has laws up the wazoo to protect employees. You are so okay. Please do not worry about anything.

Can either of you provide code cites for these claims? As far as I know (and I could be wrong), there are no specific laws that prohibit an employer from telling the truth about a former employee when asked. Because of the potential for defamation lawsuits, most COMPANIES have set a policy to only verify employment dates, but that's not codified. If an employee was fired because they were caught stealing an employer could state that as long as they have proof.

To Sue,
You need not worry. If what you say is true, you were terminated because of a lack of business. That's what you tell prospective employers and that is what your former employer may tell if asked. They might not do anything more than confirm dates.

I don't know if it's a law in Ca - but CA DOES have seriously progressive employment laws that are there to protect employees former and current. I believe its an across the board policy in CA to only verify dates and title. However, as ScottGem pointed out they will not say you got fired they will say you were laid off. When you go on interviews that's how I would phrase, don't try to hide it - there is nothing wrong with being laid off.

I'm confused. You are being laid off, but they are giving you a severance package of 3 months salary. To get the 3 months salary you have to sign a waiver saying you won't sue. This sounds VERY fishy.

First, layoffs generally don't involve severance. Not fishy at all in Canada. Layoffs do indeed involve severance. Signing the form is also standard procedure meaning that you accept this package as final and binding. I've been through two layoffs (sadly) and this is quite standard here.

but CA DOES have seriously progressive employment laws that are there to protect employees former and current.

I certainly agree with that. And it has become a very common practice by most employers, especially larger ones. In fact, my company uses an outside service to verify employment for credit or reference purposes. I just don't think its actually written into law anywhere.

In all my years in HR no one really asks this question. In a situation like yours an HR rep will probably say they cannot commit. If its a reference they call they might say something like "you knew it was time to move on". However, if you live in a state where they are allowed to say why you left they will tell the truth - they will probably say you were laid off due to lack of work. Legally, no employer is allowed to say anything disparaging when a new employer calls for a reference.

Glinda, as an experiened HR person, when people call for references, what do they usually ask? And how do you answer it?
Do they ask stuff like" is he a good worker?" how do you know that and how would you answer it?
Thanks

Glinda, as an experiened HR person, when ppl call for references, what do they ususally ask? and how do you answer it?
Do they ask stuff like" is he a good worker?" how do u know that and how would u answer it?
Thanks

If you wrote my name down and someone called me to ask about you, they usually ask questions like "how did nicespringgirl get along with other employees", "was she easy to get along with", "why did she leave", "what did she do for you?", "would you hire her again?"

If someone calls and its not a reference all we can give out is your dates of employment and title.

I just found out that I got layed off and they are giving me a 3 month package of my same salary. They want me to sign papers saying I won't sue them in order to get the 3 months pay. When a new employer calls for references, will they say I was terminated or what can they legally say?
I don't believe that they can tell anything even about your performance, that is what I knew.

I don't believe that they can tell anything even about your performance, that is what I knew.

If you read previous answers in this older thread, you might have noted, that there is little law that governs this, its mostly about company policy. The only thing the law says is that you can't lie.

I am just curious, what if the previous employer lied, how can you find out?
All you will be informed is that you are not hired, who knows why is that?
What is your previous employer is the jerk?

Just wondering...

Obviously when you left a job, you have no ocntrol what goes on back there. I am a optimist that believes in the fact that employers usually pick up vibes about people. At least that's what I would like to believe.

I think usually people interview you and if they are ever in doubt, they just called and chcked, but again, if you have so few candidates to the point that you have to resolve back to your uncertainty, what does that say about that job and company.

Well...

LOL, I am just wondering, making life harder:D... I don't have to worry about it:)

I am just curious, what if the previous employer lied, how can you find out?
All you will be informed is that you are not hired, who knows why is that?
What is ur previous employer is the jerk?

Just wondering...

Obviously, if the prospective employer doesn't offer a reasons for not offeringthe job, then you might not know. But there may be ways to find out.

And just curious...

Some people always say that they don't get hired because of their race! How do you know that?
I don't believe there will be employers who are dumb enough to say this.

I don't want to say those people taking things personal, but if they are not doing this, they just know they are discrinimated? How can they sue the employer based on their "feelings"!

I never met a case like this, but there are some people complain about this, making me wonder...

I am just curious, what if the previous employer lied, how can you find out?
All you will be informed is that you are not hired, who knows why is that?
What is ur previous employer is the jerk?

Just wondering...

It's pretty dangerous on the part of the employer to do this. They could set themselves up for a lawsuit. If the prospective person called the employer to ask why they were not considered and told that the previous employer had given out bad information they could sue.

Sometimes the ex-employee lies. There was a previous employee who lied about his position at our company and I'm certain that he did not get jobs because when they could send notice to verify employment we always had to say that he was not X position he was something else.