I’m in a situation in which I am seeking work, but my former employer, a large law firm, does not provide references due to the legal issues that can arise for defamation of character/libel/slander/etc. if the wrong things are said. The most they can do is verify employment dates and will not disclose salary history or work performance. Their policy regarding reference requests is to contact HR, which will pretty much restate their no reference policy to the person asking. How do I get around this situation if potential new employers want professional references, but the former company’s policy dictates otherwise? I don’t want to get any of my former colleagues in trouble, or worst, fired, for providing me with references, but how can this obstacle be overcome when the HR dept of most companies starts demanding this? Also, I am not in the position to ask for references from my former managers, not that they would give me any due to company policy, because I did not leave on very good terms with them and do not trust them to say good things about me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
