Is it against the law?

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valgalallen	yes, actually it is...they should give no more info than what is asked Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

wonkyfella	Yes. You can refuse to give a reference, but giving a 'bad' reference is against the law. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

musteatdonut	you are NOT allowed to directly say negative things, however you can get your point across by choosing your words carefully. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

poli_b2001	Yes, they can refuse to give one however which is just as bad. They are also not allowed to put anything irrelevant in ie if you have been disciplined over something like using the internet while you are supposed to be working as this is not really a work related issue and does not need to be known by your new employer, all they need to know is whether you had good time keeping, good attendance and were compitent at your job The above example happened to me and i hammered my previous employer for putting that into my ref as it nearly cost me my current job arseholes that they are Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

suzi3	Basically yes. The law in Scotland says there is no need for bad job reference, they must give a reference although a basic reference is just when you started and when you finished really which I was say is the equivalent of a bad reference as they dont want to say anymore about you. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Tefi	It is, yes. You can decline to refer, which is usually taken to mean that the reference would be so bad if you were allowed to give such a reference, that you cannot bring yourself to write a reference. You can do a basic reference, stated the dates the employee worked for you, how many sick days they had and how many times they were late, but I would not do this as it is a grey area. Many employers use standard reference request forms which require you to give hones answers to their questions, these can also lead you into muddy waters. If it is going to be a bad reference, just decline to give one, it is safer, and says the same thing. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

cireengineering	Unlawful, no. Unethical,yes. Employers simply verify employment and usually don't go any further than that. If you didn't do anything terribly bad that caused you to lose your job then you should have nothing to worry about. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

kevsbabe	if they are lying and you can prove it then yes if you cant then no Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Arizona Chick	If you list people who know you and not back job references it would be a reference. I have never been asked to give a job reference other then past employers names, addresses, and phone numbers. Most states give you the right to mark down that you worked there but not let the company you are applying at call them. I have lived in allot of states and very few are allowing this but still ask for a non family reference either someone you have worked with or a friend. So what you need to do is read very carefully and see if there is a way to get around job references or letting them call your past employer since you have such a hard time with this. If you are the boss getting a call from another company that an old employee is now wanting a job at. Well then this is different you can only tell the dates the employee worked there if he/she was fired or quit, and depending on the state you can tell them the reasons why you fired that person. I would look into your state laws on this side of the bad reference if you are the old boss giving information out. In Alaska only the owner or human resources can give any information out on an old or current employee. So I would look at your state laws some Law Firms will give this information out as a fee consultation some will tell you to read your state laws at the law library. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Chrispy bacon, tomatoes & eggs!	No, unless it is untrue. But be very careful that you can prove what you say. Never be malicious - it may rebound! Better not to give a reference at all than to lie. If you are in a really tight corner consult a solicitor as a last resort - but it will cost............................ Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Tyson	Normally employers won't mention in a reference any negatives ie timekeeping etc, they'll just leave it out of your reference but if the new employer specifically asks about that issue they have to tell the truth. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Michael H	In SC,, legally a former employer can only tell someone that you did in fact work for them and give the dates of employment.Nothing more... If you can prove any negative comments, then you can sue them for slander. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

londonangel007	No you have to be perfectly honest so that the next employer knows what this person is like Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

tony testa	No. So long as it's a true one. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

nick	no but i would let the person see it Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

kdee	No but they can disclose it so be prepared for the person to read it. If you can't give a good one I would refuse. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mel	It's not against the law, but it can come back to bit you. Let's say you give this person a bad reference - they don't get the job, and the prospective employer tells them it's because of a bad reference from you. That person can sue you for slander as well as for unreasonably impeding their ability to seek and obtain gainful employment. Conversely, if you give a GOOD reference and the person turns out to be an axe murderer, the new company can sue you for failing to disclose problems that might have clued them in. Your safest bet is to verify employment only - dates, title, and salary. Good luck. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Hippie	Why should it be against the law to be honest ? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Tufty Porcupine	No, the law requires that is truthful and honest. (So, an employer giving a falsely good reference or omitting information relating to a person's unsuitability for the job, could leave them open to being sued by the person's new employer.) An applicant cannot sue someone for libel (slander is for derogatory verbal comments) if the comments made are truthful and can be proven to be such. A reference that merely states dates employed and duties (as most US respondants seem to advocate) would be worthless in the UK - in fact it would probably be deemed to be a bad reference by what it doesn't say! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

shelcom	Not if its true. How can you even think there would be a law against that? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Expert Realtor	Yes and no. If the information that was conveyed is factual and can be documented, "Johnny failed a drug test" "Johnny didn't show up for work one day" "Johnny stole from our company". They can pass this information to a future employer. What they CANNOT say: "Johnny was really lazy" "We didn't like Johnny and we are glad he's gone" "I personally, wouldn't hire Johnny again"....because these are all SUBJECTIVE options...and up for interpretation. If you can get proof that they did the later, you can sue if you can also prove that it actually COST you a job, but you can't sue, for the mere fact that they did it. That is why you don't see more lawsuits regarding it...it's almost impossible to prove. PS: It's an urban myth that ANY state has a law that says an employer can only verify dates of employment and that's it. No state has such a law in place...though people will swear that they do. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Debs	No its not illegal but people rarely write a reference that is bad. They just use things like "performance was adequate". Use of the words adequate, satisfactory etc are known by readers that they were useless otherwise people would use words like, outstanding, superb, excellant instead. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

oakhill	If the information in the job reference is true, not libelous or slanderous, then it is legal to give a "bad job reference". The former employer can correctly state facts, such as "the employee was late or absent from work for an average of three days per month". If the reference information is untrue, then the writer could be sued. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No