Family Dollar Stores, Burnsville, Minnesota Family Dollar Store, Burnsville MN, Rude and obnoxious manager Linda curses out and threatens customer for returning curtains. District manager watches in silence. Never shop at this store, they don't know what customer service is!! Burnsville Minnesota

I was wondering about Gatorlaw's lack of proper grammar myself. It certainly seems strange that someone who claims to be a paralegal for 18 years cannot even post a grammatically correct rebuttal. And I will definitely certify that Robert in NY and Robert in MD are TWO different people, as anyone who frequents this site knows. And, Robert in MD, you are correct concerning the law in this situation. Of course, most morons would rather rely on hearsay than the truth.

bad management, alot of swearing and dirty.

anyone who reads this site would know.

What strikes me as odd is that someone with such poor grammar claims to be a paralegal.

Go figure.

I'd post every State Law regarding this issue, but I don't want to waste ED's bandwidth doing so. ALL of them are basically the same. You claimed it was illegal, and I asked for the FEDERAL Law you claimed. You could not post it(it does not exist). You made up some whacky tale of someone else telling you about it(heresay), and said it was still the current law(never was a law). I present the actual Statute for Florida(where you claim the law exists), and then you continue on your roll.

Unreal.

BTW Gator...Buffalo NY and Bowie Md are about 450 miles apart, and that would take roughly 7 HOURS, not 15 minutes. Apparently geography is not your forte' either. Not good at legal matters, worse at map reading. Perhaps FD is hiring.

Don't forget to bring your job references.

PS: Robert is actually a very popular name. My friends, family, and customers call me Bob.

Again gentlemen, if you all the workforce regions in the state, it is not HIPPA, but in these states you cannot give out information of if a person has been terminated,or quit,or if they are rehireable or not.You can quote statues of the law all day, I have seen these cases myself, and I find it reall odd that there is two roberts in two not to far states and giving two same answers and there is about 15-30 mins apart from each other, now that should go down in the books! She may have quoted the HIPPA wrong, but there is where you cannot give bad references, I have seen employers sued and the company they have worked for have either fired them for it or disposed of them very shortly.

I have seen cases of dollar general district manager tell a (another superviser which the conversation was recorded and yes you can do this in the state of GA ,telling why she was fired,even though it was true, and she was not rehireable, she turned it to the unemployment office and they had to call apologize to the former company and they quoted to him what he can say and not say, and what she stated in her comment was true, it was passed in 1999 and still in even in 2008)To me, if they no longer work for the company why not just say, yes they worked here to date, yes this was their rate of pay, and if they ask if they are rehireable, the best way to answer it is:that is between me and the employee.

But, I just looked at the time span on both of your comments, and the "states" and that is very odd..... But, you must be grown men, try to act like one please, this site is to report unjust things, go and read over these reports and see for yourself.Have a great day "gentlemen".

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) relates to the medical system in the US - not private employers in NON-medical related goods/services. It's primarily about improving the electronic transfer of medical information and safeguarding the confidentiality of said medical information. HIPPA has no effect on non-medical employers who do not provide medical related goods/services. This legislation has nothing to do with a former employer giving a "bad reference" about a former employee.

There may be some law in some jurisdictions that prevents giving a "bad reference" but HIPPA is NOT IT.

The 2007 Florida Statutes

Title XXXI
LABOR Chapter 435
EMPLOYMENT SCREENING View Entire Chapter

435.10 Sharing of personnel information among employers.--Every employer of employees covered by this chapter shall furnish copies of personnel records for employees or former employees to any other employer requesting this information pursuant to this section. Information contained in the records may include, but is not limited to, disciplinary matters and any reason for termination. Any employer releasing such records pursuant to this chapter shall be considered to be acting in good faith and may not be held liable for information contained in such records, absent a showing that the employer maliciously falsified such records.

History.--s. 47, ch. 95-228.


There you are. Pretty simple.

And from a company that makes it's living dealing with background checks and job references...

"Bad Job References... What Information Can Your Former Employer Disclose?
Loose-lips don't just sink ships..

They often devastate a job hunters ability to gain employment. After leaving a job, a former employer is free to pass along negative information about you to prospective employers, and most state laws protect them from legal recourse provided the information is - job related; based upon credible evidence; and made without malice.

It is illegal for a former employer to purposefully give false information for the sake of harming one's reputation or preventing one from obtaining employment. In addition, personal information that is not job related should neither be asked about or provided by either a prospective or former employer. In general, it is inappropriate for a prospective employer to ask questions or a former employer to provide information about an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or parenting responsibilities.

Former employers who fear potential defamation and slander law suites have become crafty when answering employment reference questions. Rather than speak negatively about a former employee, some will opt to "No Comment" when asked critical employment questions regarding performance, termination, and eligibility for rehire. The inference of this is just as harmful to the employee as a bad reference, and if a prospective employer has to choose between two qualified applicants - one with positive references and the other with mediocre or bad references - who do you suppose they will choose?

Another common practice among leery employers is to refuse to give any information about an employee other than dates of employment and title. This is gross disservice to an employee who has dedicated years of faithful service to a company, yet gets no better of a reference then an employee who was fired for embezzlement.

Unfortunately, this policy is within the legal rights of an employer- provided the policy is an across the board policy that applies to all employees - not just a selected few. There have been cases successfully argued that an employer discriminated against an employee for not applying the same policy to all its employees."

As I said...telling the truth is NOT illegal.

TO :Golddustwoman and Robert, I have read over these comments about the Law You both were talking about, I am a paralegal for over 18 years, you both should be keeping your comments to yourself. Robert you jumped in on her response to another person and obvisouly the one she was talking to must not live in the real world of retail. I have seen cases like this and if you do check out websites of this company being sued for the managers not getting paid like they are supose to, they have violated many laws that are set out, come on, name me a company big or small that hasn't. You both have good arguements,but stop clashing, and Robert mind your own business.

P.S. Yes,she is right about that concerning the giving bad references, in some states, it does apply in GA and FL. The reason they pass this is because,many companies will not give the truth, and maybe alot of HR dept. don't know that supervisers like these district managers are doing this, and no not many companies win these cases, because they settle out of court with the ones that is the victim of lies or giving a bad reference,the company is more afraid of this being public.

Robert, call either your unemployment office or the one in Florida, since, Florida is not in the north, like in Maryland, so u may be able to lie up there about people, here in GA and FL you can't, and HIPPA does not just apply to health,it is about privacy as well, no i dont know any code, I am sorry if i am not CSI here,but it is kind of funny that there is cases that people have done this in these states and got sued and fined.. but be my guest go call and give a bad reference,and see if it happens there or down here,why would a person that works in a state issued office read and give us a copy of this ? How can you honestly say it is a lie if you are not there?

Directly from Florida Statutes:

--"The 2007 Florida Statutes

Title XXXI
LABOR Chapter 435
EMPLOYMENT SCREENING View Entire Chapter

435.10 Sharing of personnel information among employers.--Every employer of employees covered by this chapter shall furnish copies of personnel records for employees or former employees to any other employer requesting this information pursuant to this section. Information contained in the records may include, but is not limited to, disciplinary matters and any reason for termination. Any employer releasing such records pursuant to this chapter shall be considered to be acting in good faith and may not be held liable for information contained in such records, absent a showing that the employer maliciously falsified such records.

History.--s. 47, ch. 95-228."

Florida Law allows telling the truth about former employees. Your Trainer lied to you, or has reading comprehension issues.

And from a Company that deals exclusively with Job References and background checks:

--"Bad Job References... What Information Can Your Former Employer Disclose?
Loose-lips don't just sink ships..

They often devastate a job hunters ability to gain employment. After leaving a job, a former employer is free to pass along negative information about you to prospective employers, and most state laws protect them from legal recourse provided the information is - job related; based upon credible evidence; and made without malice.

It is illegal for a former employer to purposefully give false information for the sake of harming one's reputation or preventing one from obtaining employment. In addition, personal information that is not job related should neither be asked about or provided by either a prospective or former employer. In general, it is inappropriate for a prospective employer to ask questions or a former employer to provide information about an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or parenting responsibilities.

Former employers who fear potential defamation and slander law suites have become crafty when answering employment reference questions. Rather than speak negatively about a former employee, some will opt to "No Comment" when asked critical employment questions regarding performance, termination, and eligibility for rehire. The inference of this is just as harmful to the employee as a bad reference, and if a prospective employer has to choose between two qualified applicants - one with positive references and the other with mediocre or bad references - who do you suppose they will choose?

Another common practice among leery employers is to refuse to give any information about an employee other than dates of employment and title. This is gross disservice to an employee who has dedicated years of faithful service to a company, yet gets no better of a reference then an employee who was fired for embezzlement.

Unfortunately, this policy is within the legal rights of an employer- provided the policy is an across the board policy that applies to all employees - not just a selected few. There have been cases successfully argued that an employer discriminated against an employee for not applying the same policy to all its employees."

As I said, many companies figure it's easier to say nothing, than to tell the truth and save another employer the costs involved by hiring a bad apple.

I do not play that game. I tell the truth, good and bad about anyone who quits, or gets fired. As long as it's the truth(and obviously job related), nobody can say squat about it. Why should a top notch employee suffer because of some dipstick who cannot follow simple instructions? Companies who say nothing harm the good ones more than they do the bad ones. I won't hire someone who cannot get a good reference from a former/current employer.

I did once...it cost me plenty.

Directly from Florida Statutes:

--"The 2007 Florida Statutes

Title XXXI
LABOR Chapter 435
EMPLOYMENT SCREENING View Entire Chapter

435.10 Sharing of personnel information among employers.--Every employer of employees covered by this chapter shall furnish copies of personnel records for employees or former employees to any other employer requesting this information pursuant to this section. Information contained in the records may include, but is not limited to, disciplinary matters and any reason for termination. Any employer releasing such records pursuant to this chapter shall be considered to be acting in good faith and may not be held liable for information contained in such records, absent a showing that the employer maliciously falsified such records.

History.--s. 47, ch. 95-228."

Florida Law allows telling the truth about former employees. Your Trainer lied to you, or has reading comprehension issues.

And from a Company that deals exclusively with Job References and background checks:

--"Bad Job References... What Information Can Your Former Employer Disclose?
Loose-lips don't just sink ships..

They often devastate a job hunters ability to gain employment. After leaving a job, a former employer is free to pass along negative information about you to prospective employers, and most state laws protect them from legal recourse provided the information is - job related; based upon credible evidence; and made without malice.

It is illegal for a former employer to purposefully give false information for the sake of harming one's reputation or preventing one from obtaining employment. In addition, personal information that is not job related should neither be asked about or provided by either a prospective or former employer. In general, it is inappropriate for a prospective employer to ask questions or a former employer to provide information about an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or parenting responsibilities.

Former employers who fear potential defamation and slander law suites have become crafty when answering employment reference questions. Rather than speak negatively about a former employee, some will opt to "No Comment" when asked critical employment questions regarding performance, termination, and eligibility for rehire. The inference of this is just as harmful to the employee as a bad reference, and if a prospective employer has to choose between two qualified applicants - one with positive references and the other with mediocre or bad references - who do you suppose they will choose?

Another common practice among leery employers is to refuse to give any information about an employee other than dates of employment and title. This is gross disservice to an employee who has dedicated years of faithful service to a company, yet gets no better of a reference then an employee who was fired for embezzlement.

Unfortunately, this policy is within the legal rights of an employer- provided the policy is an across the board policy that applies to all employees - not just a selected few. There have been cases successfully argued that an employer discriminated against an employee for not applying the same policy to all its employees."

As I said, many companies figure it's easier to say nothing, than to tell the truth and save another employer the costs involved by hiring a bad apple.

I do not play that game. I tell the truth, good and bad about anyone who quits, or gets fired. As long as it's the truth(and obviously job related), nobody can say squat about it. Why should a top notch employee suffer because of some dipstick who cannot follow simple instructions? Companies who say nothing harm the good ones more than they do the bad ones. I won't hire someone who cannot get a good reference from a former/current employer.

I did once...it cost me plenty.

Directly from Florida Statutes:

--"The 2007 Florida Statutes

Title XXXI
LABOR Chapter 435
EMPLOYMENT SCREENING View Entire Chapter

435.10 Sharing of personnel information among employers.--Every employer of employees covered by this chapter shall furnish copies of personnel records for employees or former employees to any other employer requesting this information pursuant to this section. Information contained in the records may include, but is not limited to, disciplinary matters and any reason for termination. Any employer releasing such records pursuant to this chapter shall be considered to be acting in good faith and may not be held liable for information contained in such records, absent a showing that the employer maliciously falsified such records.

History.--s. 47, ch. 95-228."

Florida Law allows telling the truth about former employees. Your Trainer lied to you, or has reading comprehension issues.

And from a Company that deals exclusively with Job References and background checks:

--"Bad Job References... What Information Can Your Former Employer Disclose?
Loose-lips don't just sink ships..

They often devastate a job hunters ability to gain employment. After leaving a job, a former employer is free to pass along negative information about you to prospective employers, and most state laws protect them from legal recourse provided the information is - job related; based upon credible evidence; and made without malice.

It is illegal for a former employer to purposefully give false information for the sake of harming one's reputation or preventing one from obtaining employment. In addition, personal information that is not job related should neither be asked about or provided by either a prospective or former employer. In general, it is inappropriate for a prospective employer to ask questions or a former employer to provide information about an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or parenting responsibilities.

Former employers who fear potential defamation and slander law suites have become crafty when answering employment reference questions. Rather than speak negatively about a former employee, some will opt to "No Comment" when asked critical employment questions regarding performance, termination, and eligibility for rehire. The inference of this is just as harmful to the employee as a bad reference, and if a prospective employer has to choose between two qualified applicants - one with positive references and the other with mediocre or bad references - who do you suppose they will choose?

Another common practice among leery employers is to refuse to give any information about an employee other than dates of employment and title. This is gross disservice to an employee who has dedicated years of faithful service to a company, yet gets no better of a reference then an employee who was fired for embezzlement.

Unfortunately, this policy is within the legal rights of an employer- provided the policy is an across the board policy that applies to all employees - not just a selected few. There have been cases successfully argued that an employer discriminated against an employee for not applying the same policy to all its employees."

As I said, many companies figure it's easier to say nothing, than to tell the truth and save another employer the costs involved by hiring a bad apple.

I do not play that game. I tell the truth, good and bad about anyone who quits, or gets fired. As long as it's the truth(and obviously job related), nobody can say squat about it. Why should a top notch employee suffer because of some dipstick who cannot follow simple instructions? Companies who say nothing harm the good ones more than they do the bad ones. I won't hire someone who cannot get a good reference from a former/current employer.

I did once...it cost me plenty.

That is why you could not give any factual code for it. Telling the truth about someone is never illegal.

Robert,I live in FL. I do know this is a law here as well in GA also, as a traing manager we were told by loss prevention, and showed us in writing since 1999, federal went into effect of what I stated to you, and no a employee cannot go into ANY details what so ever, I have seen even DM go to court and the company and lose every time,and they were stated that you cannot tell or give a bad reference, now if let say if me and you work for a company called toy bots, and you wanted to transfer to another store in another state, you would call and tell what job you did, etc.. pay rate etc.. within that company, now if you quit or was terminated etc.. and that person calls,(they only call to verify that you worked there)at another company, you can only ask those following questions, believe me i was told by many people that you can tell what all they did , etc.. the unemployment office offered classes in GA and in FL, I had to attend for management (which was requested of the company i was working for) and they read and stated the smae thing since 1999.

What happen to me was I was hurt on the job and there was written proof i was fired the day i went to see the DR,and the company i worked for is now avoiding our lawyers about it, and the unemployment place told me this about bad refernces(which my former boss was doing) and they and the company can be in legal trouble and that HIPPA was violated, believe me i have terminated people that have stolded truck loads of merch, and i see them working at another place, and i wish i could have told that employer what they did, but by law i cant, thanks for the response have a good one

"Why, is a DM (documented) of breaking a FEDERAL LAW CALLED HIPPA, Giving a BAD reference, and BY law, you can only state that the employee worked there, how long, and what job requirements they did, YOU CANNOT TELL THAT THEY WERE RETIRED, FIRED, OR QUIT, OR THEY ARE REHIREABLE."

The former/current employer can tell the prospecting employer ANYTHING as long as it is true. That is the whole point of asking the current/former employer to begin with. Some companies have made it "policy" not to answer anything, but that's only because they fear going to Court. Lawyers cost money, even when the employer wins, which they always do. You(the employee) cannot win damages against someone who tells the truth.

Now...name the law you think exists.

Michelle, don't fall into your own trap of words, I am on here, because, I was referred by a "Legal" Advisors. People that actually take cases like this, and win them in court of Law. I have told you that I hope YOU as in Michelle, don't see the UGLY side.

You did right by going thru the chain of command, and it worked, but any place of work,(as i am telling someone that "has"worked 17 long , hard years of handling deposits etc.)Shame on YOU, YOU as an adult should know the rule of thumb of what I am talking about.In the state where I am at, it was ILLEGAL to terminate a employee for being on worker Comp, why are the poor employees running from lawyers to state the so-called claims against me?

Why, is a DM (documented) of breaking a FEDERAL LAW CALLED HIPPA, Giving a BAD reference, and BY law, you can only state that the employee worked there, how long, and what job requirements they did, YOU CANNOT TELL THAT THEY WERE RETIRED, FIRED, OR QUIT, OR THEY ARE REHIREABLE.

If you actually took off the glass slipper and put on a pair of real worn out shoes, you will see what people are talking about, oh by the way, the manager that was forced to unload the truck by herself, had hemmorraged, and lost her baby, and her family is getting a lawsuit, and the LP and DM and regional Fired her to try to cover their butts, hmmm, believe me your DM may not do it, then that is good, youmay think i wouldnt do that, that girl done more years in retail than me, she worked 20 years, never missed a deposit either.

Things can happen, even deposits, I have worked Loss prevention as well, and even some old buddies of DG can pull a fast one you of losing DEPOSIT, and you would be suprised that even loss prevention can show you how even someone with so many, many years in management can lose a deposit, and how people can be set up up, Maam, I am not no where mad at you, but you just told me 17 years i guess in what you have done, I feel bad for you, and sorry, go work in a atlanta store, or even up in New york, etc... even in the company you work for, they dont care about you, you are not money, in due time , you will see..

I came on this website because I was having probs with my manager not following policies and things of that nature. I did go to the dm and at first, nothing. I went to her again and that worked. There have been no more probs in my store. Now I come on here to try and dispute some of the crap that ppl post sometimes. Don't worry why I am on here. If you no longer work for FD, then why do you even bother to come on here? How do you know what types of things are going on now? Sounds to me like alot of these ppl bring the probs on themselves. Like the one that "lost" the deposit. Yea, like I believe that. I have worked for this company for 17 years and have NEVER lost a deposit.

I have to say, this is kind of odd with a mananger cursing you in public,(and don't be suprised if goldy locks will respond to you from family dollar the "her DM &Regional's don't do that in their district, and they are in perfect world, I wonder why "she" is on here responding on this website???hmm) anyway, if that happen saying this b/c i wasn't there, I have been a manager, and been in situations that people have brought back items to return, we had a 30 day policy which is suposed to be posted where the public can see, but they cannot refuse a refund without a reciept, BUT, if the itme has blood, or any body fluids(health dept will tell you this,)you can refuse the refund or exchange, and had a customer get mad, i picked up the phone and called FL health inspector, and he gladly showed her by law, I did not have to take it back, etc.... if this really happen I am sorry that it did, i have learned in working with the public, you treat them as you would be like to be treated, and these ppl. dont go home with you.. To me if it had family dollar on there, or it appeard to be from there, i will tell you, we can exchange, or refund, but i would ask, please next time, if all possible save the barcode, b/c it helps the service go faster for you(customer) and believe me, even in face of bad area stores, they gladly accepted.I am not going to tell you not to shop there again, I don't because, I know more than what you really want to know about this company(my own opinon)speaking. But, like that other person you should have went maybe to bathroom, or say, excuse me a moment, and go and called the police, or ask to use the phone there, they cannot refuse you to as long as it is a local number,and by law they cannot refuse to let you call 911, as far as cursing, it is a form of threat, and rasing your voice is a form of threat, whether in writing or on phone or in person,and if you ar anyone curses out loud in front small children guess what(i have seen this happen in my own store) you can be locked up for that as a form of abuse, even if they are not your children... and if he was back there, i would have went back there to talk to him, and if he stood there in silence, well shame on him, and what shocked me is a DM to be putting up any stock!, BUT, alot of times, we dont think of things in the spur of the moment, and i hope it was not you doing the cursing at her, then, Shame on you. But, you can call corp, or got to their website, www.familydollar.com tell them, what happen, and what they do is contact the DM or the regional, if that does not help, then, get the regional phone number, which they can give that number, b/c it is not a "personal " phone number, and tell them, and if not resolved, call the divisonal manager, or write a letter to the howard levine, if what you are saying is what happen, because either way, you can just let it go, and go on with your life or these options, it is up to you, but in the long run, the Truth will be made know on either side.Just dont go in there try arguing, or they can get you for harrasing, and they can have you locked up, and that is no way to handle it, because cursing is a waste of vocabulary. But, I hope all goes well on this, and it can get resolved, and have a good one.

If you were cursed in such a manner what is the reason you did not call the police yourself?
Just asking
Stacey