CDG Management I made a complaint about another co-worker I was written up once after and a week later I was fired Now it's been a year and I'm still unemployed Edison New Jersey

Just have a friend call and pretend to be from XYZ company, doing a reference check on you. Make sure the friend is articulate and sounds believeable, as if they are really calling from the HR dept of a company. Obviously, you want the company to be out of state or at least not in the same region. But anyway, this is an easy way to find out what, if anything, this company is saying about you to prospective employers.

You need to find out exactly what this company is telling your prospective employers about you. If you feel comfortable enough, ask one of these companies who are canceling your interviews. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, perhaps you might have a friend who owns a company to call them under the impression that you are applying for a job with them and see what they say about you. If it were me, I would join an employment agency and be honest and upfront about the situation. Your recruiter will be able to find out exactly what is being said about you and help you overcome it.

It is not illegal for a company to give you a bad reference, unless what they are saying is factually untrue. For example, if they say you stole from them, that is defamatory. If they say that they don't believe you were being fully honest with them, they is not defamatory. Many companies will give you a less than favorable reference by simply answering 'no comment'.

Each state differs in their laws on what is and is not acceptable to say during employment background checks, as well and any recourse you may have. Check the laws in your state.

Good Luck to you!