<prompt> Human: My friend is trying to quit her job at a store. The reason is that she needs to focus on her academics as her dissertation is coming up and this is only a small part time to get some extra cash. But the manager said that unless she works 20 hours per week for the next 2 weeks, any time a future employer or whatever calls him, he will give a bad review. He said to earn a good review, she has to work for 2 weeks diligently and on her best behavior or the 2 weeks will restart. This is problematic, because a phD is a million times more important than a part time job at some shitty supermarket. She is going to be unbelievably busy during this time so adding 20 hours a week for a part time would make it so that she can barely get any sleep or time off. But not just for that, a lot of background checks, especially at large and reputable companies, ask for employment history. She will be required to include this part time job. Many of them will contact her old bosses as well, and if the manager gives an overwhelmingly negative review it may change the companys mind. Its happened before to my roommate; he fucked around at his job and his next job asked the manager, who said he was a horrible employee. He then got his offer revoked. What can she do in this situation? She will work the 20 hours if its absolutely necessary, but is this illegal in some form?  <response>: No employer would call a grocery store for a review. Call the stupid bluff, if she is working on a PHD then why does a referral from a grocery store matter? 