Jenn writes:
(large snip of the details)
>>I didn't learn until later that giving a bad reference is illegal. It is
>illegal to slander, lie and personally attack someone in a written or oral
>referece; it is called defamation of character. I haven't looked up the
>specific statutes or common law on this issue, but I would be curious. At
>any rate that is what I meant. Now quid pro quo: Why do YOU ask?
>
I think some clarification is in order here-it's not illegal to give a bad reference-if
the person truely was bad. And as much as I hate to admit it, there are "poison people"
out there I've worked with whom I could never reccommend for a position with someone
else-to do so would be to lie. But I think this lie is what Jenn is tagging as illegal
(and I don't know the law behind it so I can't help out here). To give a false reference
for someone, whether good or bad, is at least unethical,if it isn't illegal. But the
bottom line is-one bad reference won't kill you-unfortunately it happens more often than
many care to admit. Personality problems do happen. On the other hand, more than one
bad reference, ESPECIALLY if they cite the same reasons can be damning. But this isn't
peculiar to science- it happens in business as well!
Julia Frugoli
Dartmouth College
visiting grad student at
Texas A&M University
Department of Biological Sciences
College Station, TX 77843
409-845-0663
FAX 409-847-8805
"Evil is best defined as militant ignorance."
Dr. M. Scott Peck
