Do I have to inform my former employer of my new job?
I’d appreciate some advice. I’m moving jobs in a few months, taking a promotion to a higher position. This news reached my former employer, who approached me in person and said I need to inform her of my new position, the company name, the department within that company, and my new line manager’s name.
For most former bosses, even my current employer, I wouldn’t think twice about this and would simply tell them. However, when I worked for her, a co-worker of mine tried to leave for another company. He got the job, then passed on the details to her. A week later, the company rescinded the offer with no explanation. He remains convinced she sabotaged it to stop him leaving.
Obviously I don’t work for her anymore, so she has no incentive to sabotage the move in order to keep me, but I still find the request unusual. She has emailed me twice about it and has also emailed my line manager to ask for the information. She is implying this is a legal requirement without really saying it.
Is it normal in the US for a former employer to track ex-employees’ movements, and am I under any obligation to tell her?
Jobadvisor
No, you are under absolutely no legal obligation to provide your former employer with any information about your new job.
In the United States, once your employment with a company ends, your professional and legal relationship with them is severed (barring very specific, pre-existing contractual agreements like a restrictive non-compete or non-solicitation clause, which even then rarely require you to report directly to a former individual manager in this manner).
Your former boss’s request is highly abnormal, invasive, and carries major red flags—especially given the history of sabotage you witnessed with your ex-co-worker.
Why is she doing this?
In the vast majority of professional settings, a manager has no business tracking ex-employees down to demand their new manager's name, department, and company. There are only a few reasons a former boss would act like this:
Intimidation & Control: She is trying to project authority she no longer has.
Enforcing a restrictive covenant: If you signed a Non-Compete or Non-Solicitation agreement, HR (not usually a former manager) might monitor departures. However, if she were doing this legally, she would reference the specific contract you signed, not make vague implications of "legal requirements".
Malice/Sabotage: Given her history with your former co-worker, it is highly likely she wants this information to interfere with your transition.
How to Handle This
You have the upper hand here. You do not work for her.
1. Do Not Share the Information
Do not give her the company name, the department, or your new manager's name.
2. Instruct Your Current Line Manager
Since she has emailed your current manager, you need to get ahead of the narrative. Speak to your current manager immediately. You can say:
"My former manager from [Previous Company] has been repeatedly emailing me and now you, demanding details about my new job. I want to assure you that I am under no legal or contractual obligation to provide this. Given her history of unprofessional behavior and boundary-crossing, I will not be responding to her, and I respectfully request that you do not share any of my transition details with her either."
This protects your current manager from accidentally leaking the information out of politeness.
3. Respond with a "Hard Pivot" (Or Say Nothing)
Since you no longer work there, ignoring her emails entirely is a perfectly valid option.
However, if you feel you must respond to stop the emails, send a brief, firm, and completely vague message. Do not apologize, and do not explain why.
"Hi [Name], I am not at liberty to share the details of my upcoming role due to confidentiality. My transition details are finalized, and I appreciate your time during my employment at [Previous Company]. I wish you the best."
If she replies demanding more or claiming "legal action," do not reply. Let her scream into the void.
A Final Note on Privacy
LinkedIn/Social Media: Do not update your LinkedIn, directory, or other professional social media with your new job title or company name until you are at least 3 to 6 months into the new role.
Block her and any of her "allies" from your previous workplace on your social profiles immediately so they cannot snoop. Keep the receipts: Save copies of her emails to your personal inbox.
If she somehow tracks down your new company and tries to contact them to sabotage you, having a paper trail of her harassing you for the information will be incredibly valuable if you ever need to get cease-and-desist legal counsel involved.
Supervisor terminated employee before telling HR????
(USA) Ever heard of a supervisor in a state department firing an employee without telling anyone first? In this case, HR was only informed after the termination meeting. The person had been on the job for just a month and a half, hadn’t been fully trained in yet, and went through a slow orientation, often left alone with no guidance for days. Employee is disabled and hired through a special disability program that is supposed to help people with disabilities get jobs. When the employee asked if there was an issue, the supervisor said he had to attend a meeting and would talk later—then fired him two days after. The reason given was underperformance, even though the employee was never told about it, hadn’t started the actual job duties yet, and received no warning or notice. He had quit another job to take this one and had just begun paying union dues, but the union said they couldn’t represent him since he was still in the probation period and the employer could let him go anytime. Does this seem normal?
Jobadvisor
A supervisor firing someone without HR being looped in beforehand isn't the norm in most well-run organizations — usually HR is at least consulted, especially in state government where terminations tend to be more procedural. But it does happen, particularly with newer or less experienced supervisors, or in agencies with weak internal processes. It's a red flag for how the workplace is run, but on its own it isn't necessarily illegal.
Here's the more useful way to break down what you've described:
Probationary status matters a lot here. If the employee was still in a probationary period, that usually means much weaker job protections — often at-will, meaning termination can happen without warnings, documentation, or a stated performance history. That's consistent with what the union told him. Probation periods exist specifically so employers can end things quickly if it's not working out, without needing the kind of process that applies to established employees. So the lack of warning or ramp-up time is unfortunately not automatically a violation.
The disability angle is the part actually worth scrutinizing. If he was hired through a state program specifically designed to employ people with disabilities, there may be program-specific protections, accommodation obligations, or grievance procedures that exist outside normal union/HR channels — sometimes tied to state vocational rehabilitation agencies or Ticket to Work-type programs. Those are worth checking separately from the union, since the union already said their hands are tied.
Questions worth answering:
- Was he ever formally offered or denied a reasonable accommodation, or did the poor onboarding itself function as a denial of the support he needed to succeed?
- Is there a specific disability-employment program office (state VR agency, or whoever placed him) that has its own oversight or appeals process?
- Did the termination reason ("underperformance") get applied to duties he'd never actually started — because that inconsistency, even if not illegal by itself, is worth documenting in case he pursues anything further
This is really a question for an employment lawyer or disability rights organization (many offer free consultations) rather than HR forums, since the disability program angle is the piece with actual legal teeth — everything else described sounds like standard at-will probationary termination, unfortunately.
How to tell if your offer is a scam
I hate that this is even a thing, but scammers are rapidly taking advantage of people desperate for jobs by offering them fake jobs and then stealing their money. Here's some things to look out for that may indicate you're being scammed:
The role you applied for is an early career role (typically role titles that end in Analyst, Administrator, or Coordinator)
Scammers know that folks early in their career are easier targets and there are tons of people applying for these types of roles, so their target pool is extremely wide. There are many, many legit analyst/admin/coordinator positions out there, but be advised that these are also the types of roles that are most common targets for scams.
Your only interview(s) occurred over text, especially Signal or WhatsApp.
Legit companies aren't conducting interviews over text and certainly not over signal or whatsapp. They will be done by phone calls and video calls at a minimum.
You are told that you can choose if you want to work full- or part-time.
With very few exceptions, companies don't allow employees to pick whether they're part- or full-time. That is determined prior to posting the role and accepting applications.
You were offered the job after one interview
It's rare for a company to have an interview process that only consists of one interview. There are typically multiple rounds where you talk to many different people.
You haven't physically seen anyone you've talked to
You should always have at least one video call with someone from the company to verify who they are. If you haven't had any video calls with someone from the company, that's a red flag. Make sure to ask to have a video call with someone before accepting any offers.
You were offered a very high salary for an early career role
As much as everyone would love to be making 6 figures as an admin or coordinator, that just isn't realistic. Scammers will try to fool you by offering you an unbelievable "salary" to hook you.
You're told that you will be paid daily or weekly.
Companies can have odd pay schedules sometimes, but most commonly companies are running payroll twice a month or every other week. It's unusual for a company to be paying you on a daily or weekly schedule.
You are being asked to purchase your own equipment with a check that the company will send you
Companies will almost never send you money to purchase your own equipment. In most cases, companies will send you the equipment themselves. If a legit company wants you to purchase your own equipment, they will typically reimburse you after the fact as opposed to give you a check upfront.
This list isn't exhaustive, but if you have an "offer" that checks multiple of the above boxes then it's very likely that you're being scammed.
Jobadvisor
It is incredibly frustrating that searching for a job—which is already stressful enough—now requires navigating a minefield of predators preying on people's livelihoods.
Your breakdown is spot-on. You have captured the exact playbook that modern employment scammers use. To make this invaluable checklist even easier to digest and share, here is a structured, highly scannable summary of your points, along with a couple of extra sneaky red flags to watch out for.
🚩 The Red Flag Checklist: Is Your Job Offer a Scam?
1. The Interview Process is Too Easy or "Silent"
Text-only communication: Legit companies do not conduct interviews or extend offers exclusively over WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal.
The "One-and-Done" interview: If you are offered a job after a single, brief conversation, be highly suspicious. Real hiring processes take time and involve multiple stakeholders.
No face-to-face contact: If they refuse to get on a standard Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet video call, it’s a massive red flag. Always insist on seeing a face before signing anything.
2. The Offer is Too Good to be True
Unrealistic salaries: If an entry-level "Data Entry" or "Administrative Coordinator" role is offering $45/hour or a six-figure salary, it is almost certainly a trap.
Instant flexibility: You get to choose your own hours, transition from part-time to full-time on a whim, and work from anywhere with zero experience required.
3. The Financial "Gotchas" (The Equipment Check Scam)
The Check-Clearing Scam:
How it works: They send you a digital check, tell you to deposit it, and instruct you to buy your laptop/software from their "approved vendor." The check eventually bounces (sometimes days or weeks later), but the money you sent to the "vendor" (who is actually the scammer) is gone forever.
Odd payment schedules: Promising daily or weekly payouts is incredibly rare for legitimate corporate roles, which almost always run on bi-weekly or semi-monthly payroll cycles.
➕ Two More Red Flags to Add to Your Radar
If you want to make your checklist completely bulletproof, keep these two extra tactics in mind:
The Sketchy Email Address: Check the sender's domain. If they claim to be recruiting for a major company like Microsoft or Target, but their email comes from
hr-microsoft@gmail.comor a slightly misspelled domain like@careers-target.com, it's a scam.Premature Demands for Personal Data: If they ask for your Social Security Number, direct deposit banking details, or a photo of your ID before you have signed an official, verified offer letter, abort mission immediately.
Are you currently trying to vet a specific offer that feels a bit off, or did you put this list together to help protect others in your network?