topic Re: Reference check problem in Community Chat

Reference check problem

Abrowneyegirl — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 18:55:31 GMT

A neighbor of ours got herself into a pickle!

She was informed yesterday to hire legal consult. She gave a phone reference for a former employee where she works and now the former employee is suing.

He (the former employee) feels that the reference caused him to lose a job offer.

The company and my neighbor have both been named in the lawsuit. Her employer told her that providing the reference was not in the scope of her position so she is on her own.

Even I know (and I am NOT in HR or legal) that the ONLY info to be provided in a reference check is:

-Did they work there? yes or no

-When did they work there? dates

-Position held

Any other info can be liable.

I offered her sympathy and luck, but I think she is going to have some legal expenses. !!

Now-a-days you have to be careful.

Re: Reference check problem

Nightowlz — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 19:12:03 GMT

Most places I worked for would only say when they started & left, nothing negative for that reason. DH took a new position several years ago & they don't have an HR Dept so he pretty much has to try & deal with that. He came home from work one day telling me about a reference he gave on a loser that was working there. I told him you are probably in a heap of $&*! over that. I said you cannot say that. He said why not the guy is worthless. Nothing ever happened. He was lucky. Sometimes he would show up & sometimes he would not. He worked fueling planes on an AFB & told the pilots his son had leukemia so he could collect patches. That is so low. Nothing wrong with his son. I told DH he better not be doing that again. Hope your neighbor makes it out of this one ok. Not sure what she said. That will make all the difference in what happens.

Re: Reference check problem

Abrowneyegirl — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 19:34:16 GMT

@Nightowlz wrote:
Most places I worked for would only say when they started & left, nothing negative for that reason. DH took a new position several years ago & they don't have an HR Dept so he pretty much has to try & deal with that. He came home from work one day telling me about a reference he gave on a loser that was working there. I told him you are probably in a heap of $&*! over that. I said you cannot say that. He said why not the guy is worthless. Nothing ever happened. He was lucky. Sometimes he would show up & sometimes he would not. He worked fueling planes on an AFB & told the pilots his son had leukemia so he could collect patches. That is so low. Nothing wrong with his son. I told DH he better not be doing that again. Hope your neighbor makes it out of this one ok. Not sure what she said. That will make all the difference in what happens.

I was afraid to ask what she said about him!

Your husband was lucky

People are so quick to sue.

Re: Reference check problem

Missy823 — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 19:55:29 GMT

My cousin was an HR Manager, and she told me those were the only questions that were allowed to be asked as well, but I have been the reference for some of my co-workers and I've been asked more than that. Giving a reference, I remember the first question asked to me was why the person left the job. I told her I wasn't working for the company when it happened (which was the truth), but in the back of my head, I was thinking, "You're not supposed to ask me that." I also remember a company doing a background check on me, and one of my references called me to let me know that they called her and they were asking questions like, "What's my middle name?" A company like that should have known not to ask questions like that.

Re: Reference check problem

CelticCrafter — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:01:38 GMT

I haven't worked in 27 years and even I know all you can tell them is dates worked and position held.

Re: Reference check problem

BabyYoda — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:04:28 GMT

@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
A neighbor of ours got herself into a pickle!

She was informed yesterday to hire legal consult. She gave a phone reference for a former employee where she works and now the former employee is suing.

He (the former employee) feels that the reference caused him to lose a job offer.

The company and my neighbor have both been named in the lawsuit. Her employer told her that providing the reference was not in the scope of her position so she is on her own.

Even I know (and I am NOT in HR or legal) that the ONLY info to be provided in a reference check is:
-Did they work there? yes or no
-When did they work there? dates
-Position held

Any other info can be liable.

I offered her sympathy and luck, but I think she is going to have some legal expenses. !!
Now-a-days you have to be careful.

Is is your neighbor in the HR dept at the company? Then she can be held liable. If she was a previous coworker and gave a bad reference then she may be ok. As long as she said it is her opinion and backs it up with facts about that person. He will have to prove in court that the company he interviewed with for the job told him it was indeed that particular reference your neighbor gave for the reason they did not make a job offer.

Usually companies don't give reasons why they don't make an offer to a candidate.

Re: Reference check problem

Abrowneyegirl — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:22:14 GMT

@BabyYoda wrote:

Is is your neighbor in the HR dept at the company? Then she can be held liable. If she was a previous coworker and gave a bad reference then she may be ok. As long as she said it is her opinion and backs it up with facts about that person. He will have to prove in court that the company he interviewed with for the job told him it was indeed that particular reference your neighbor gave for the reason they did not make a job offer.

Usually companies don't give reasons why they don't make an offer to a candidate.

No she is not in HR she was his manager/supervisor.

Re: Reference check problem

Say Nay — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:27:56 GMT

@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
A neighbor of ours got herself into a pickle!

She was informed yesterday to hire legal consult. She gave a phone reference for a former employee where she works and now the former employee is suing.

He (the former employee) feels that the reference caused him to lose a job offer.

The company and my neighbor have both been named in the lawsuit. Her employer told her that providing the reference was not in the scope of her position so she is on her own.

Even I know (and I am NOT in HR or legal) that the ONLY info to be provided in a reference check is:
-Did they work there? yes or no
-When did they work there? dates
-Position held

Any other info can be liable.

I offered her sympathy and luck, but I think she is going to have some legal expenses. !!
Now-a-days you have to be careful.

Are you sure? I thought if the information the employer provides is without malice and is true that it is fine.

Often employers are overly cautious. A former employee needs the former employer to provide more information to the potential employer and the former employer is reluctant to provide it.

http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/what-can-employers-legally-say/article.aspx

Re: Reference check problem

Abrowneyegirl — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:29:43 GMT

Side note:

A lot of companies (including the one I work for) now CHARGE for a reference check.

You are directed to a number or website where you pay $22.00 for an automated service to confirm a candidate's previous employment and dates.

For large companies reference requests are a waste of valuable time and has potential liabilities, so technology fixed that!

Re: Reference check problem

Snowpuppy — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:30:59 GMT

I left a job yrs ago for health reasons. I had issues with my old boss that were causing me so much stress it became intolerable so I turned in my notice and left.

I hired a reference checking company. For what I considered a small fee they called my last 3 employers. They not only reported to me what was said but HOW it was said. Worth every penny.

Re: Reference check problem

missy1 — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 23:17:29 GMT

How can the former employee know they were not hired due to your neighbor's reference? So your neighbor allegedly gave a personal view of her former employee? I thought only personal references are the ones who give that, NOT employers. (meaning employers can only verify employment dates)

Re: Reference check problem

missy1 — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 23:16:10 GMT

So when I leave an employer reference do I leave the HR person or my boss?

Re: Reference check problem

spindlegirl — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 07:06:15 GMT

@Smaug wrote:
@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
A neighbor of ours got herself into a pickle!

She was informed yesterday to hire legal consult. She gave a phone reference for a former employee where she works and now the former employee is suing.

He (the former employee) feels that the reference caused him to lose a job offer.

The company and my neighbor have both been named in the lawsuit. Her employer told her that providing the reference was not in the scope of her position so she is on her own.

Even I know (and I am NOT in HR or legal) that the ONLY info to be provided in a reference check is:
-Did they work there? yes or no
-When did they work there? dates
-Position held

Any other info can be liable.

I offered her sympathy and luck, but I think she is going to have some legal expenses. !!
Now-a-days you have to be careful.
Are you sure? I thought if the information the employer provides is without malice and is true that it is fine.

Often employers are overly cautious. A former employee needs the former employer to provide more information to the potential employer and the former employer is reluctant to provide it.

http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/what-can-employers-legally-say/article.aspx

Good info @Say Nay.

Re: Reference check problem

Abrowneyegirl — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 17:36:49 GMT

@missy1 wrote:
So when I leave an employer reference do I leave the HR person or my boss?

It depends on your employer.

For example: in my case my current employer and previous employer will only provide confirmation of employment to those who pay for the information.

If we receive a call from a company looking for a reference on a previous employee we are to hand the call off to HR who then provides the information on how to get confirmation of employment and the fees. We are to give NO information out, we can be terminated for doing so.

I had one employer that would only provide a reference after the person (job seeker) completed and signed a "release of information" and for potential new hires we had to have permission signed before we would contact their references before offering a job. !

When I am asked to provide references I only provide names and personal numbers and email addresses (not work contact info) of people I used to work with who are no longer working at that employer. These are people who can personally provide information about my professionalism and experiences.

If they wish to verify my previous employment that is up to them, I know exactly what they are going to get and what it costs.