Employer Defamation (Reference)

[pseu do nym]

My question involves defamation in the state of: Maryland

Hello. I'm posting this on both Defamation/Libel as well as Employment because I'm not sure where it fits in better.

Basically I am afraid of a former employee of a company and am worried about the company giving me negative reviews. Basically MY VERSION of what happened when I worked for this company is:

1-I developed a medical condition whilst working for this employer

2-they wanted to fire me because the condition required an amount of time off of work

3-since it's illegal to fire someone for getting sick, they trumped up performance issues to justify termination.

I have my reasons regarding why I believe they were "out to get me". For example, my manager started CCing their boss in ALL email correspondence right after a hospitalization for the condition. Additionally, I was placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), which I am guessing had the purpose of establishing a list of things I needed to accomplish to "improve performance".

The problem was that the PIP did not do that. All of the items in the PIP were highly subjective and none of them compared my performance to that of employees in similar roles. Basically, whether or not I passed depended wholly on the opinion of the person writing the analysis.

So now I'm looking for new jobs and have a feeling this reference is saying something negative about me. I researched the employment Defamation laws in my state (Maryland) and found that employers have "qualified immunity" to Defamation suits that arise from providing performance data to reference checkers IF the reference was given "in good faith".

I'm not looking to get rich off this employer. I just want them to limit all discussion of me to positive and neutral tones. I understand that the qualified immunity protects them IF the reference was given in good faith... What I wonder, though, is if the qualified immunity still protects them if the original performance data was NOT compiled in good faith.

[Shadowbunny]

Duplicate post: https://www.expertlaw.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=247100

Instead of just assuming they are going to say something unflattering, why not have a trusted friend call and pose as a potential employer and ask for a reference?

As to your question, how would you prove their concerns with your performance weren't in good faith?

[adjusterjack]

The other thread has been reported for deletion. Continue the discussion here.

[cbg]

Your third statement is actually not true as stated. Being sick is not a guarantee of continued employment. While you cannot be fired if you are on protected medical leave, not all medical leave is protected.

[harveymet]

Thanks for your reply.