Legally what can a previous employer say about you to a new employer?

Answer 1

Anything they want, true or false.

Answer 2

Other than laws for slander and libel, there are no laws to prevent an employer from saying anything they want. If they do give false information and the former employee wanted to do anything about it, the company could get sued.

Most companies try to stick with name, rank, and serial number, but there are ethical issues. What should I tell another hospital if I fired a nurse for patient abuse? What if the employee took money from petty cash and now they want to work for a bank? Do I have an ethical responsibility to tell the prospective employer what I know?

The issue goes the other way too. There are companies that have given good references. The new company did not find the employee to be good and sued the former company for lying. Incidentally, it does not always matter who wins these cases, it is often just the expense of defending oneself.

Many states have passed laws to protect employers who give good or bad factual references based on documented proof in the personnel file. Most often, this proof is acknowledged by the former employee either by signature or witness testimony that the employee was given the information.

Answer 3

Normally, a previous employer will only acknowledge the time that you worked there and your salary in order to avoid lawsuits. Facts cannot be contested; impressions can. If you were fired, the previous company will not list that, again for fear of a lawsuit. That being said, the wording used can tell a lot. As an example, "Person X worked for me during 2006" and "Person X was employed by me during 2006" give two different impressions. "Worked" can imply 'did something' and "was employed by" can imply 'just killed time'.

Answer 4

Employers can only give the following information:

1. Were you terminated for cause, laid off, or did you resign.

2. What were the dates of your employment

3. Are you eligible for re-hire (this requires a little explaining. When you leave a company for whatever reason, the HR department will mark your folder as re-hirable or not. They can disclose this status in most states)

The exception to this is when you list a former manager as a reference on your resume or your application. By doing so you are giving your permission for that manager to give more of their opinion of you as a person. Even then however there are limits to the negative details they can give. They can however say whether they personally recommend you or not. So be careful who you list as a reference.

Answer 5

Federal laws prevent them from saying anything per seh...though I do know of employers getting around it...depends on what kind of employee you are..if you can prove that something illegal was said?...Lawsuit city....