How much can you disclose about a past employee?

Colorado law not only allows but immunes a former employer from civil liability and damages for the release of employment history and information to future employers.  This is a good thing to remember when you get reference checks concerning your past employees.  Not only does this help our state by allowing free exchange of information, it also helps avoid a new form of liability for not releasing pertinent past employment history.  Some lawsuits are now going through several courts where prior employers are being sued for not releasing employment information when employees have been terminated for embezzlement or violence.  StaffScapes advises employers to verify your responsibilities and rights with each state that you are working in. 

As for Colorado, the Colorado Revised Statutes 8-2-114 states “Any employer who provides information about a current or former employee’s job history or job performance to a prospective employer of the current or former employee upon request of the prospective employer or the current or former employee is immune from civil liability and is not liable in civil damages for the disclosure or any consequences of the disclosure. This immunity shall not apply when such employee shows by a preponderance of the evidence both of the following:

(a) The information disclosed by the current or former employer was false; and

(b) The employer providing the information knew or reasonably should have known that the information was false.”

For more information please visit the Colorado Department of Labor’s website at : www.coworkforce.com