On The Employer'S Corporate Letterhead: Fill & Download for Free

As you have been asked to provide a "personal" recommendation for a person who was never employed by your current employer, I would not place it on corporate letterhead. My guess is that the person believes that the company's letterhead may provide some additional credibility. Instead, suggest that you just state somewhere in the letter your current position and employment. That should do the trick just as well.

Most hiring managers are reasonable people who’d never contact your current employer.Some background check companies will call your current company and aren’t discrete enough, although you can usually opt out of that instead providing alternate proof of employment like something on corporate letterhead (you can tell HR you need it for a loan or potential landlord), W2s, pay stubs, etc.Those checks are often delayed until after you accept their offer, although I’d still be concerned about unforseen problems from mistaken identities. When I last changed jobs I did not give notice until the background check completed, and provided documentation so they would not contact my current employer.

I want everyone out there to be aware of my story. Every situation is unique, but this is what can happen:An exercise in real life legal “chess”. I decided to capture it on my lunch break. Wacky but very true:Oct 2003, diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, unable to fly, per FAA, during treatment (I was a professional corporate pilot at the time).Notified employer/CEO in person of my circumstance (fyi, this is a family owned business).CEO told me to take disability, get better during treatment. CEO told me they’d get a temporary ‘contractor’ during my absence. CEO assured me I could return to my employment after treatment ended and FAA medical clearance was obtained. Employer/CEO did not offer any work alternatives.I notified employer/CEO approximately 1x per month of treatment updates, and expected treatment finish date with return-to-work plan.In June 2004 I received FAA medical clearance to return to work. I notified employer.CEO invited me to meet in person, 1 day after my notification of intent to return to work.During meeting, I was told that employer would be using ‘contractors’, and that I would no longer be employed, because the ‘full time employee’ position was eliminated. I was offered 3 months of remaining on the payroll as ‘severance’.Through some investigation of my own, I discovered that the ‘contractor’ (per IRS rules), was classified as an ‘employee’ who was being paid ‘under the table’ (illegal tax avoidance).I asked for and received a signed, company letterheaded, letter of recommendation detailing my excellent performance on the job and the company’s elimination of the pilot position.I contacted the IRS in person and discussed the employer’s tax avoidance scheme.I discussed ‘contractor’ vs. ‘employee’ and tax implications with employer/CEO, and my concerns about discrimination with regards to my employment. CEO dismissed my concerns and told me “You’re lucky you’re still on the payroll. Most people would have been let go immediately” – This is verbatim from the CEO of the company at the time.I filed a charge of discrimination under the laws of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).I also consulted with an employment law attorney. The attorney advised of the At-Will employment law, and the challenge of overcoming the ‘burden of proof’ that rests with the employee in this circumstance.Through the ‘grapevine’, I discovered that the ‘contractor’ was fired. This occurred at about the same time the discrimination charges were delivered. This was still during my 3 month ‘severance’ window of which I was ‘technically’ an employee.I filed for, and received, unemployment benefits after the ‘severance’ ended.I discovered that the employer truly did eliminate the pilot position, even though they now had a multi-million-dollar airplane that sat without a pilot for about a month.I was notified of an opportunity, via certified mail, to interview for a pilot position with the employer (the same position I held prior). EEOC advised me to interview (in sum, unemployment benefits law dictates that you cannot turn down employment).I applied, interviewed, and was turned down for the job. I was told that the company decided to hire a more qualified applicant. EEOC advised me that the company could likely offer me a different (non-pilot, possibly minimum wage) position, and I would HAVE to take it or lose unemployment benefits due to unemployment law.I elected to voluntarily cease unemployment benefits for myself (yes, it is getting expensive at this point with no income, having to pay for COBRA insurance on top of that, medical deductibles, you name it….). With a pre-existing condition prior to the ACA, there is NO other feasible alternative to COBRA.I was also interviewing with other companies at the time, trying to find employment during this entire process.By voluntarily ceasing unemployment benefits after I had interviewed, the company HAD to avoid true discrimination (a retaliation charge, technically) by either: 1. Employing me or 2. Employing no one, for the pilot position.The employer elected once again to employ no one and let their airplane sit. I had to laugh about that a bit, just imagining the other (more qualified) pilot that had been offered the job but was never paid and had his job offer rescinded. The absurdity… LOL…… BUT still legal.After some time again, around January or February of 2005, I was invited to discuss the matter with my former employer’s attorney at the EEOC office. I accepted the invitation.I was offered the job. Coincidentally, I was already employed at a new employer. Therefore, I declined the job offer. Besides, who would want to work for an employer that hires and fires several times over per year. They could now legally justify that as ‘normal, non-discriminatory behavior’ for the position since they did it to 2 other pilots also. I could just see it now, taking that job back and getting fired again the next day….*P.S. Here’s how the conversation went in the EEOC office with the Attorney:Attorney and I talked a bit (I have the notes somewhere I’m sure) then it came to this:“We would like to offer you the job in exchange for release of the charges”My response:“I would consider it. I would like to speak with him first (CEO)”Attorney’s response:“I’ll see if he’s available”That was the end of the logical part.After a week had passed, I had heard through the grapevine again that “some pilot interviewed but didn’t want the job”The unspoken logic from above is:CEO was “not available”.I didn’t release the charges for another week because I didn’t want the job (and didn’t want it advertised to my new employer that I had accepted the old job again).I did release the charges after I heard about “the pilot that didn’t want the job” (ME, of course), because they were worthless at this point anyway.Notes:Always get a letter of recommendation first. THAT was the essential catch to all of the rest.I couldn't just "go away". That is 'immoral' in my book.Final thoughts:Scary experience for me at the time, but on the other hand…….IRS audit of a 2000 employee company + legal defense + letting a company airplane worth 5 million sit for 6 months + Listening to former co-workers, friends, etc. use descriptive language about (CEO) such as “Dirtbag”, “Worthless”, “A-hole”, “Jackass”, “What is wrong with (CEO) lately”...... priceless.