06/ 04/ 2003
by Charles R. McConnell
There are two distinctly different and often conflicting sides to the matter of employment references -- checking the references of individuals we may be interested in hiring and giving out reference information at the request of other employers. Both sides of the process are not without their traps and pitfalls.
Surely we want to obtain as much pertinent information as possible about someone we're considering hiring. If we're like a great many present- day employers, however, we hesitate to say anything at all about individuals who have left our company.
In these days of heightened concern for individual rights and in the presence of a growing body of legislation addressing privacy, many managers who are asked for reference information are so sensitive to the possibility of legal action that they're reluctant to give out any information at all. These days many businesses will give out only job titles and dates of employment, essentially just verifying employment, and some employers will not respond to reference requests at all.
In responding to reference requests there are potential problems associated with both giving out information and saying nothing. Many managers are familiar with the possibility of legal action for violation of privacy; far fewer, however, seem knowledgeable of or even concerned about the prospect of legal action associated with ignoring reference requests.
On the one hand, the business might be sued for defamation resulting in one's inability to obtain a particular job because of something that was said in a reference check. On the other hand, if the business providing the reference fails to disclose a serious problem with an individual who is hired and later causes harm, the hiring organization might be charged with negligent hiring, and the business that provided the reference can in turn be sued for failing to reveal a potentially dangerous circumstance. Small wonder that so many managers feel uneasy about exchanging reference information.
With care, however, it is possible to exchange useful reference information with minimal legal risk. In fact, positive or negative statements can be made with relative safety as long as their truth can be verified and the information is furnished without malice. It is of course necessary to always obtain written authorization to release or request information about an individual, and it is essential to provide job-related information only. All information exchanged must be relevant to employment.
When checking a job applicant's references:
- Obtain the individual's signed release. This must be employer-specific, noting individually which past employers should or should not be contacted. (This can be built into the employment application.)
- Ask the employer to describe the individual's job duties, promotions, demotions, transfers and the like. Do not solicit opinions or impressions. Doing so is frequently the source of many of the controversies that arise over reference information
- Verify employment dates, job titles, salary history, attendance record and reason for leaving.
Also, avoid generalities like "He was always late." Instead you can state, if it's in your records, "He was late by more than 15 minutes seven times in June and nine times in July."
Even honest references can sometimes be a source of trouble; but in the long run, truth in reference checking is less hazardous than opinions, impressions, unproven assertions or deliberately concealed problems.
