Can I sue a recruiter for telling my current employer that I am looking for a new job?

If you had a contractual agreement with the recruiter -- oral or written -- that explicitly or implicitly required the recruiter to keep the info confidential, you can sue the recruiter for acts of disclosure in violation of that agreement. If you did not have a contractual agreement against disclosure, there is no legal basis by which the recruiter was obligated to keep the info confidential and there is no ground for suit for disclosure. This analysis will control even if the disclosure by the recruiter resulted in termination from your current employment. In California, employment is generally at will. So the employer is free to terminate you for any reason, including the fact that your are discovered to be looking for other employment, in the absence of an employment contract or union agreement that limits the employers ordinary at will powers. As for the publishing of your salary info, as with the fact that you are looking for alternate employment, anyone who publishes or discloses your salary info can be sued for that disclosure and publication if there was a written or oral contractual agreement between the publisher and you to keep the info confidential. If there was no such contract, you have no basis for suit. Salary info is not held confidential by law,and there are no protections against its disclosure except to the extent that confidentiality may be agreed to and required by individuals who contract for that result.

I agree with Ms. Mccall. There is no special relationship that exists between an recruiter and an employee, outside of any contractual obligations that may have been bargained for. Any time an employee of a company explore other employment opportunities, there is an inherent risk that the current employer may find out. It is almost inevitable that they will terminate the employee under those circumstances and there is nothing unlawful about it. You have implied you are not happy with some aspect of your job and most employers will not want to retain an employee who is looking to leave. If you think there is more to the story that you have not posted, you should consult with an experienced employment lawyer in your area.

You would be entitled to bring a breach of contract action against the recruiter if you had an oral or written agreement to keep it confidential. It does not sound like you have suffered damages as of yet. I don't think you would have an action against your employer unless you had an employment contract.