Legal pursuit can bring up a lot of money; I've seen it done to unfair employeers, but you damn well better be prepared with really solid evidence over a good period of time. The problem is most people aren't fully aware of their rights and think the lawsuit thing is too much of a PITA.
Legally an employer is allowed only to verify title and dates of employement. Anything else they offer may open them to a lawsuit, but it's still the rule 80% of the time with really vague questions and answers.
The good news is I don't think many companys are so lax they would keep a low-brow manager like the one above around very long but I've seen that too
Anyone that takes advantage of you already has your permission to do so weather you know it or not; sometimes you gotta revoke that permission. Most everyone gets screwed at some point in their lives and it makes it a lot easier to spot those people later on down the line when a lot more responsibility and money are involved.
