Reference check-how much can you say?

mjimenez

In state of Texas, how much are you allowed to say when someone calls for reference? There's a situation where an employee was terminated for theft and charged. He has been trying to find another job but his last employment gives out a little too much info and affects his chances for a new job. When someone calls to check his reference supervisor refers them to Loss Prevention Department or Police Dept for additional information. That's enough to tell someone that there has been charges. What about using criminal history against someone if the job applying for is not related to last position?

sohappytobe

I'm not sure about Texas since I'm in Louisiana but I give dates of employment and whether or not ee is eligible for rehire ... AND THAT'S ALL. I know of an incident where a former employer was sued not for saying negative things about the employee, but because the positive things that were said were not "positive enough" and ee won that law suit. Therefore, I don't touch that stuff with a ten foot pole ... it's a crazy world out there.

Whirlwind

I'm not aware of any Texas statute that specifically governs employment references. A bill was introduced in the Tx legislature several years ago to indemnify employers for providing references but it didn't pass. In the absence of something specific, the usual torts may apply: slander, libel, etc. but, as they say, the truth is an absolute defense.

I'm a little confused about who's who in your post...where are you in this situation? Without more information, all I can say is that there is nothing statutory to prevent an employer from providing a factual reason that someone has left their employment. They might choose not to do so to protect themself from some type of tort claim, or depending on the type of criminal offense, they might feel they need to give out the info lest they end up being sued for negligent referral. I, for example, would not fail to tell another child care facility that a former ee had been fired for child abuse.

marc

The flip side of the coin is that the hiring entity can go after the former employer if something truthful about their former EE is not disclosed, such as Whirlwinds example of a child abuser in a child care setting. We give very little information regarding the day to day, mundane types of referrals, and thankfully, have not had an incident that would require further disclosure. That said, we will disclose factual information of the sort that started this thread.

mwild31

I did a google search and really didn't find anything, but it wouldn't stop me from referrring this friend to an attorney. The thing about a charge as opposed to a conviction is that the company is walking a fine line between perception and reality. In this case a charge equals a perception of guilt (there hasn't been a trial or a plea entered) and a conviction equals the reality of guilt (trial or plea happened and the friend is found guilty). Your friend should chat with an attorney & see if they have any legal avenues available to them - maybe slander? Also, just one other thing, if your friend is convicted of stealing, then your friend will have to disclose that information every where he goes - ya do the crime, ya do the time.

mrbill

I have always used the policy that if it was a good former employee, then it is a pleasure to speak highly of the person. If it is a person who has baggage, then the answer always was "Company policy only allows the release of dates of employment" A person in the HR field should get the hint.