Last spring of 2006 I had involved the DOL in NY about the company I was working for in regards to their not paying the employees for a mandatory meeting scheduled on the employees day off. We won and were paid.

However, through process of elimination and hunches, this company made a guess on which employee was responsible and presented that person with the chill factor. This employee was me and I decided to leave. After taking a little time off to regroup, I actively started a job search into my chosen field.

I have had many interviews, even 2nd interviews and then nothing. In one instance, I was basically told I had the job and they would notify me the next week. I would call the persons responsible in the interviewing process and not one would speak with me nor return any calls afterwards.

I began to suspect the worst...blacklisting. I called a longtime business friend in upper management to get his input. I explained all that had happened and he confirmed my fears.

Is there anything I can do to stop them from further damaging my rep?
Obviously, they are paying me back for turning them in.

You will need to discuss the specifics with an attorney in your state.

We cannot, on a public internet board, provide specific legal advice.

I would personally pay the 90 or so dollars to get a reference from a company like deleted) If they are being inappropriate in their reference giving then you could a.) know and b.) have legal documentation if you decided to push the defamation issue.

I don't know the legal issues involved in DOL whistleblowing, but believe there are documents available on the web concerning laws about retaliation for these types of things.

I hope that sends you in the right direction.

Given that this post is over a year old, I don't think the poster is coming back for more suggestions. Additionally, specific references are not allowed.