I used to work for a school system in Volusia County, Florida five years ago. I jumped to another county after giving one month resignation and after the school year had ended. I always had positive evaluations with no negative points.

I recently sent for a job reference for a new position and received a negative reference from my former supervisor. She rated me poor in appearance. (I was obese, but had gastric bypass surgery since working for them)

She rated me fair in other areas and said I was ineligible for re-hire. Can they do that for no reason??? :confused:

Please help!

Unless the supervisor outright lied about something in the reference, yes they can. The supervisor isn't bound by what is in the review and may say anything they believe to be true, even if you disagree with it.

Side note, when was the last time your review forms were updated? I thought ours were bad but we got rid of "appearance" as a category back in the early 80's. It isn't illegal (except in DC) but it sure is pointless.

Only Michigan includes obesity as a protected characteristic. DC includes personal appearance.

Employers are allowed to provide information that they have a good-faith belief is true during references. In order to take action against her (presumably you're asking about libel), you'd need to prove that she was acting maliciously and knowingly providing false information.

There are no laws requiring employers to re-hire employees have left. Thus, there are no laws against telling prospective employers that employees are ineligible for re-hire. I've worked at places where no one is eligible for re-hired -- the assumption being that if you left one, you'll do it again.

But I always had above average evaluations and excellent evaluations. I left the position with a months notice. She said I was a FAIR employee with a poor appearance. How can she lie and get away with it???
This cost me a job???

Maybe she doesn't agree with the evaluations and thinks you are only a fair employee. The fact that you do not agree with her, or even that the evaluations do not agree with her, doesn't mean she is lying necessarily.

I am so confused. This person gave me excellent evaluations and I worked for her for five years. I hardly ever called in sick. Always went the extra mile when asked. Worked on improving my skills as an Interpreter for the Deaf and this is an educational evaluation.
I am now a teacher of five years. They will check out all of my educational references and if you have a bad reference from a school, they will not hire me on future jobs. This cost me a job that I applied for and really wanted.
I did not do anything to this woman but leave a position after five years and move on to becoming a teacher and making more money, so is that my crime?

Many employers have rules governing the information that can be provided in references. You should check with the Personnel Office or the Board of Education, if your ex-system has one, and see what they say. If you have a copy of the evaluations she gave you, you should present them. I doubt that you can do anything about the reference already given, but you might be able to avoid a recurrence.

One bad reference shouldn't prevent you from being hired unless it was regarding student safety or something major like that. Don't get me wrong, it could happen legally, but minor poor reviews generally aren't enough to disqualify you. Are yo usure that is why you didn't get the job?

I would continue applying to others. You might forwarn though that your last supervisor might not be complimentary.