Accepted Answer

Thank you for your question.

Unfortunately, this type of situation is quite precarious and may not afford your daughter significant legal remedy. Although it is unprofessional for a manager to be talking behind your back, generally it is not legally actionable behavior unless the manager is giving out objectively confidential information about the employee to someone who should not have that information. Although one would expect a manager to act professionally, there is no legal standard requiring a manager to like an employee or act professionally.

In this case where it seems like the manager has a personal dispute with your daughter, there is nothing to prevent the manager from trying to find flaw with your daughter's corporate performance (especially if the company is backing the manager). Although it is unfair, unless the manager is picking on her because of membership in a protected class of people (i.e. race, religion, etc.) then your daughter probably does not have a lot of legal recourse. To add insult to injury, absent an employment contract her employer may terminate her for any reason (or no reason) that is not discriminatory based on her membership in a protected group.

Where your daughter does have rights is where her employer tries to make false statements of facts (that are not opinions) to a third party lessening your daughter's reputation and causing her monetary damages.

Please let me know if you have any other questions on this matter and/or require further clarification.

Good Luck!

Expert:	LawGirl
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:
Answered:	2/16/2009

Lawyer

I have practiced employment law.