Generally, New Jersey and New York law permit employers to provide job references, but do not require them to do so. As a result, it is important to understand your legal rights.
Protection Against DefamationAlthough many people believe employers are not allowed to provide negative job references, that generally is not true in New Jersey or New York. While ordinarily your former employer cannot defame you, defamation is limited to false statements of fact. It does not prohibit opinions, or true but negative statements.
Not every false statement of fact included in a job reference is necessarily legally actionable. That is because employers have what is known as a "qualified privilege." This privilege protects employers that provide negative job references, as long as they did not know the statement they made was false, and did not act in reckless disregard of whether the statement was false. However, at least in New Jersey, an employer still can be liable if it negligently provides misleading or incomplete information in an employee's job reference.
Neutral Job Reference PoliciesMany companies have policies that require them to provide neutral job references. Typically, that means they will provide only your dates of employment, final job title, and sometimes other basic information. This is particularly common for larger companies, but is true for some smaller businesses as well. These policies usually are set forth in an employee handbook or another written policy. Some companies that have neutral reference policies permit supervisors to provide individual job references, but others do not.
Of course, many businesses have different policies or requirements regarding job references. For example, some companies permit individual supervisors to provide written or oral job references, explain the reason why their former employees left the company, or indicate whether an individual is eligible for rehire.
Negotiating Positive or Neutral Job ReferencesMany employees who leave a job are offered severance packages. This is especially common for individuals who lost their jobs as part of a reduction in force or downsizing and those who have a legal claim against the employer such as discrimination or retaliation.
Our New Jersey employment lawyers recognize the importance of job references. As a result, when we negotiate settlement agreements and severance packages, we generally seek to include at least a neutral job reference, if not a positive one.
In addition, when appropriate we try to convince employers to agree not to disparage our clients, meaning not to say anything negative about them irrespective of whether it is true, false or merely an opinion. Some companies are willing to agree not to disparage a former employee as part of a settlement or separation agreement, or at least agree to make sure that certain key employees, such as your former supervisor or head of your department, will not do so.
If you would like our help, please feel free to call our office at (201) 777-2250.
There are certain industries in which the law requires employers to provide some information about their former employers. For example, in New Jersey, the Cullen Act requires hospitals and other medical providers to give out certain information relating to the competency of doctors, nurses, and other health care workers who previously worked for them. Similarly, for employees who are subject to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), employers are required to provide information about the reasons for separation in a U5 form.
Contact a New Jersey Employment LawyerPlease feel free to contact our law firm if you have concerns about the type of job reference you will receive from your former employer. To schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys, you can either contact us online, or call us at (201) 777-2250.