Legal Question in Employment Law in Texas

References

If you resign from a position, is it against the law for them to give you a ''bad'' reference?


Asked on 7/16/06, 7:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Roger Evans Mathis & Donheiser

Re: References

No. Any truthful matter, or any matter of honest opinion, can be provided by an employer. Many employers are hesitant to provide information beyond certain basics, but there is no reason an employer cannot tell the truth about an employee, including an opinion that the employee was incompetent, lazy, had a "bad attitude" or any similar remark. Reports of attendance problems, inability to complete assignments, etc. are also permissible. What an employer cannot say would be anything that was demonstrably false, especially if it implicated an ex-employee's honesty. For example, if an employee were terminated for suspiciaon of theft, but it was not proven, then to call the employee a thief would be inappropriate. It would be permissible (although not necessarily recommended), however, to say that the employee was terminated because of suspicion that he or she was a thief because that is a truthful statement.

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Answered on 7/16/06, 7:25 pm


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