Robert Half told my employer Im looking
I'm trying to warn everyone out there that just because you use a well established, highly respective staffing agency, doesn't mean they won't tell your current employer your looking. I used Robert Half to find the job I have now. It turns out the job isn't what I expected so I call Robert Half to see if they can find me something else. Well my current employer uses Robert Half to find candidates. I called Robert Half on a Wednesday and Thursday my boss tells me that she heard I was looking for a job again. She told me Robert Half is required to tell them if their employees use them to look for other jobs. That is the biggest lie I have ever heard, but Robert Half did let my HR Manager know. Now everything is awkward at work and my boss is treating me differently. DO NOT USE ROBERT HALF!!! I didn't think they would ever do something so stupid and I just want to help others out there. Robert Half saw bigger dollar signs with my current employer than they did with me so they built confidence with them by telling them I was looking. BEWARE!!
Actually, what you are experiencing is very common among staffing agencies. You were placed in a position by a staffing company who has a contract with the company they placed you with. The contract states that, if you are temporary, you have to be made permanent within a certain period of time or the company will have to pay the agency more money to employ you as a temp. (For example: they pay the agency $15 per hour but the agency only pays you $8 per hour. If you are not made permanent within 3 months, the company has to pay the agency $20 per hour to keep you on their books. and you still only get $8 per hour)
Likewise, if you are a placed as either a temp employee for 6 months but the company doesn't feel like you are a fit, the company has to pay the agency a certain percentage of what you would have made within the time remaining for them to search for a replacement for you.
The same goes for if the agency places you or you are hired by a company and you decide that you are not a fit and decide to go elsewhere, the agency will need to pay the company a certain percentage plus is not allowed to claim the finder's fee. Therefore, it is more beneficial, financially and contractually, to rat you out.
Now, as for you leaving the company on your own volition, you may be obligated to repay the agency for the finder's fee that they had to give back because you left. If you signed anything, make sure of what it says before you take any actions to leave.
Agencies are a racket and if you want to keep going thru them, you will need to go thru a different one than the agency who placed you.
If you are talking law suits, watch out!!! By telling people verbally or in writing that they shouldn't use a particular product or use a particular agency, you are setting yourself up. The agency can sue you. At a minimum for slander/libel (depending on your forum for spreading this news) Freedom of speech does not extend to one disgruntled individual telling another person to not use that agency because they (fill in the blank)
As for your suing them, since you didn't actually lose your job, this isn't a possibility. If you lose your job somewhere down the road, you would need to prove that it was directly related to the agency contacting your supervisor. This would be hard to prove as your supervisor can say you lost for job for a myriad of other reasons and you wouldn't have concrete proof of being fired because you looked for another job.
You contacted the Better Business Bureau, you filed a complaint, they contacted the agency, you were offered a "what can we do" and so even if you did manage to get a court or mediator to hear your case, it would be dismissed because you were offered the opportunity to help with a solution.
But, in the future, just remember to not sign anything and to read what you signed. Even offer and acceptance documents can contain hidden meanings within their phrases.
I have to disagree with this. A consumer is within their rights (and freedom of speech) to not recommend an agency if the recommendation is based upon FACT. Now should they choose to start a smear campaign based upon false information then that is a different story and would be subject to slander and libel suit(s). The original poster stated that they did not recommend RH based upon the fact that they disclosed to their current employer that they were searching for a new job and because of this felt their job is now possibly in jeopardy. They even elaborated that RH acknowledged the error and offered to make ammends. Neither of those would land him in the middle of a slander/libel suit. Most likely wouldn't even get a lawyer to generate a cease and desist letter. They were unhappy with their service and have a right to express so as long as they stick to the FACTS. That is one of the great things about this country.
Of course it is also a double edged sword in that the current employer can express their opinion/belief about the employee's performance without fear of a suit sticking as well. i.e.: his performance was subpar and he isn't eligible for rehire. They don't have to prove why they believe this as long as they don't say something known to be dishonest and untrue such as he was stealing.
I have to disagree with this. A consumer is within their rights (and freedom of speech) to not recommend an agency if the recommendation is based upon FACT
True enough, BUT, if the comment made is designed to hurt the agency by preventing people to stop or not start to frequent said agency, a case CAN be made for slander/libel (depending upon medium used). Anyone can take fact and twist it in any way they want and even though the underlying facts are based in truth, if the intent is to harm, the person can be sued.
You can disagree with it if you want, but loopholes exist and a savvy (read unscrupulous) lawyer can exploit those loopholes to his and his clients own benefit.
My former company from hell saw my resume up on Monster and Careerbuilders.com. Thye subscribed to both services and a representative in Personnel showed me my resume which I posted on both sites.
This is what I dislike about Monster and Careerbuilders. They make it hard to 'hide' your employment search from your current employer. How hard is it to let your members click a box that says hide from certain companies?
Sassy, I'm afraid you let this cat out of the bag yourself. When an agency places you, you should know that they work for the client, not for you. You should know they may tell the company that you're looking when you come back to them. They could also have found out somewhat accidentally if Robert Half put your name on an available list that this company had access too (just like when you post your resume on Monster, your current employer may see it and recognize you). Most placement agencies lose part of their fee when an employee leaves before a year too, so again, this should have been something you could reasonably foresee.
There is always a gamble when you job hunt that your current employer will find out one way or another. You raised the chances of being found out by making the risky decision to go back to the company that just placed you. There is no legal expectation of privacy on job searches so you won't get anywhere with a lawsuit. The smart thing to do at this point is to step up your job search and find something else before your current company finds your replacement.
Tess
I used Robert Half and got a temp to perm position with them that didn't last. I was there 3 days when the Account Rep from RH called me to let me know the person I was working with (the one who interviewed and tested me) at RH left and he would be the contact for now. He wanted to know how I was doing and wanted to know if I really wanted this job since the client said I wasn’t asking a lot of questions. I told him I had only been there 2 days and understood the material I was given to read, but didn’t have any questions since I haven’t started to work with the data and didn’t have access to it yet, and asked my manager what should I be working on. The next day I gat a call from RH saying the client didn’t think things were going to work out and they needed someone with more experience with SQL Server 2005. He said that I should leave now. Apparently the client does not have to pay if they decide within the first 3 days not to keep the temp. I got paid for the hours I worked and discussed the situation with RH informing them that I was never asked or tested by the client on the things they said I needed more experience with, and never did the manager discuss any of this with me. RH said they would keep looking for another assignment, but one month later I have not heard anything from RH. I see postings on their site that I am qualified for, but no calls from RH. I have also checked RH site and the position I had is still listed and unfilled a month later. I wish RH would be honest and tell me why they aren't contacting me for other opportunities.