I don't know Michigan's laws in detail, I'm not licensed to practice in your state.  But I've never heard of any state requiring a police report from an employer for firing someone.The bad references is a different question. In most states, you ex-boss has some legal protection, to answer call for references from people you're trying to get hired by, as long as he doesn't say anything knowingly false or with reckless disregard for the truth.  Without some proof of exactly what he might be telling them, after you had a cash register issue, it's hard to see anything you could do.