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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    1

    Lightbulb Defamation in Employment References

    Hi
    quick questions.
    if 'bob's' boss wrote a reference saying that;
    after bob left, police were investigation disappearance of money from an account bob administered..is that false innuendo?

    and if the boss wrote that bob didnt get along well with staff because he is badtempered...i would say that is a fair comment (if true)..would bob have to prove otherwise? malice may be too hard to prove ...and the employer (boss) would have a duty of care to the future employer, with the defence of qualified privilege.
    just wondering if i'm heading in the right direction

    any advice appreciated
    thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: defamation-references

    I'll cut to the chase here.

    It is a myth that employers are prohibited from providing any negative information about a past employee. The employer may legally say anything that is true, that they have a good faith belief is true, or that represents their honest and supportable opinion.

    To sue a former boss regarding references, Bob would have to prove (1) that the information was false (not that the boss honestly but mistakenly believed it was true, not that the boss misunderstood something, not that the boss held an opinion that was different than Bob's, not that the boss jumped to an incorrect conclusion, but that the information was factually wrong); (2) that the boss knew or should have known that the information was false; (3) that the information was communicated to at least one person other than Bob himself and (4) that as a direct result of this communication of false information, Bob suffered damages (as the law sees damages).

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