Guidelines for Giving Employment References
Employers have long relied on the information received from an applicant’s references as an aid in determining whether to hire an applicant. Information about an applicant’s previous work performance is valuable in determining how the applicant will perform for your organization.
However, given some recent legal judgments against employers who gave negative references about previous employees, many employers are hesitant to release information about previous employees for fear of legal retaliation. How can you, as an employer, provide information about a previous employee’s work performance without making yourself vulnerable to legal reprisals?
First of all, employers need to support one another in hiring efforts. If you have knowledge of an applicant’s dishonesty or illegal behavior, it’s important to share that information to a prospective employer. You would certainly expect the same courtesy if you were on the other end of the hiring process. A previous employee’s documented embezzlement, drug use, or fraud can be shared with prospective employers if the employee was told that the offense was unacceptable within your organization.
It’s in the realm of more subjective performance issues that employers can find themselves in trouble when giving references. The general rule of thumb is that you, as the previous employer, should only share information related to documented performance, not subjective opinions. You can share information about an employee’s absenteeism, but not draw conclusions about WHY the employee was absent. You can share information about the number of errors an employee made or the amount of personal phone calls an employee received. You can also share whether the employee is eligible for re-hire under the policies of your company.
Be sure that you only give information to a prospective employer that you have also shared with the employee. Many employers unfortunately are not completely upfront with employees about performance concerns. If you’ve chosen not to address certain problems with an employee, you should not share those problems with a prospective employer. For example, the employee should have been told that his absentee rate was a problem if you intend to tell prospective employers that his absentee rate was a problem.
References are an important screening tool in determining a candidate’s suitability for employment. Employers who use some common sense and discretion should not be concerned about giving reference information about an employee’s work performance.