Validating a worker’s professional history is a crucial part of the hiring process. Positions that offer competitive pay and benefits often come with specific employer expectations. When a professional is in the running for a new position, the organization considering them may reach out to former employers to perform reference checks.
The goal is usually to validate that someone retained the job they claim to have held and that their professional experience aligns with the responsibilities they might have in a new position. Unfortunately, sometimes the manager or human resources professional responding to an employment verification attempt decides to share inappropriate and inaccurate information. They might provide a scathing review of the employee’s job performance or provide inaccurate information.
Defamation by a former employer can cost a worker opportunities. In some cases, they may be able to take legal action.
What information can employers share?
Regulations about employee rights and privacy limit what companies can share with each other. Typically, one company can only confirm a worker’s dates of employment, the position they filled at the company and other basic details about their employment.
It is typically inappropriate for an employer to provide in-depth information about someone’s job performance or the reason for their separation from the company. Particularly in scenarios where the representative for the company provides information that the organization cannot prove or substantiate, the disclosure of negative information about a former employee might constitute defamation.
If the worker finds out about the company sharing inaccurate information, possibly because they lose a job opportunity, they may be able to take legal action. The law specifically protects those who might experience setbacks caused by negative or false references related to certain protected characteristics, including their age, sex or race.
Defamation is a violation of an individual’s rights that can have significant professional and economic consequences. A successful defamation lawsuit can result in compensation for the impact that the inappropriate disclosures have had on the plaintiff. In some cases, the courts may even order the employer to cease sharing inappropriate or inaccurate information with other parties.
Workers should not have to accept inappropriate conduct by organizations that can harm their professional prospects. Discussing scenarios in which employment verification turns into defamation with a skilled legal team can help workers hold businesses accountable for unfair and inappropriate conduct.