What can we say as employers if we are listed as a reference?

[raindrop]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am a pharmacist and recently had a tech quit on me with only a 2 hr advance warning. When she was working, she was slow to learn new things and took her time doing any specific task.

I mentioned to the store manager that Heaven forbid this girl put me down as a reference because I will lay it all out for any potential employer. My manager told me we are not allowed to say anything specifically negative about any employees. We are not allowed to say how well they worked, how prompt they were, how well they got along with others.

Basically, the only thing we are allowed to say is "If I was asked to rehire her, I wouldn't"

Is this true?

Lynn

 

[Caverject]

yes, this true. Anything else said could be considered slander. It is very important that all you say is, "yes, so and so worked here" and thats it.

 

[bananaface]

You can't legally say any bad things as the previous employer contact person unless you can prove them to be true. If you have proof that someone gave short notice, such as a letter from the person dated less than 2 weeks before the last day, you could not be sued for slander, since what you said was true. But, you have to go by company policy if it is more restrictive. And, you have to make sure that your company does not have an "at will" clause in its hiring paperwork before you tell someone calling for a reference that the person left on short notice.

Keep in mind that most places will candidly say good things about good employees. So, if someone asks if he/she was a good employee and you can't comment they should have an idea that something is going on. Refusing to comment can hurt this person's job prospects as much as offering negative comments.

Now, I wonder if they list you as a personal reference instead of an employer reference, does that change anything?

 

[imperial frog]

I would think that a retail store would have a policy of not allowing a recommendation, either good, bad, or indifferent to come from anything other than human resources or a manager to begin with. Save yourself some trouble and kick it to the department that should be handling it in the first place.

 

[raindrop]

The problem with that is, the HR is in a large corporate office, hundreds of miles from the pharmacy. As I never gave her an official write-up for poor work habits, nor official praise for good ones, HR would have absolutely no idea what kind of worker she was. All they know is, she clocked in, and clocked out.

If I were a potential employer, I'd want to know all about that employee, warts and all.

It's a shame that I can be trusted to tell a patient all about their medicine, side effects, medical condition but if another employer asks me about a former tech, I have to lie.

What's up with that?

I would think that a retail store would have a policy of not allowing a recommendation, either good, bad, or indifferent to come from anything other than human resources or a manager to begin with. Save yourself some trouble and kick it to the department that should be handling it in the first place.

 

[Samoa]

The problem with that is, the HR is in a large corporate office, hundreds of miles from the pharmacy.

Even so, your company probably has a policy requiring you to refer all callers asking for references to the HR department. I honestly don't have a problem with the rules on references--someone who was a horrible employee for me could very well become a star somewhere else, and there are very few kinds of things that I think justify depriving someone of the chance to start over with a clean slate.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Even so, your company probably has a policy requiring you to refer all callers asking for references to the HR department. I honestly don't have a problem with the rules on references--someone who was a horrible employee for me could very well become a star somewhere else, and there are very few kinds of things that I think justify depriving someone of the chance to start over with a clean slate.

It's a tough call sometimes. A pharmacist videotaped taking dilaudid from the lockup. Walgreens had been watching him for a while and nailed him red handed. He was dismissed and the video was referred to the police who then gave it to the media. The guy was on the 6pm news. No action was taken with the board and I think the only charges were for theft. I floated later to his home store and got a bit more the the story. Within a week the tech said he was working for Eckerds down the street. After a short time he was no longer there. He was let go at Eckerds for "funny business". As of when I left Florida his license was still clear and he was still out there somewhere presumeably working as a pharmacist. There is no impaired practitioner program in Florida. If he were reported he would lose his license. So far, no one has had the stomach to throw a net over the guy.

 

[Samoa]

It's a tough call sometimes. A pharmacist videotaped taking dilaudid from the lockup. Walgreens had been watching him for a while and nailed him red handed. He was dismissed and the video was referred to the police who then gave it to the media. The guy was on the 6pm news. No action was taken with the board and I think the only charges were for theft. I floated later to his home store and got a bit more the the story. Within a week the tech said he was working for Eckerds down the street. After a short time he was no longer there. He was let go at Eckerds for "funny business". As of when I left Florida his license was still clear and he was still out there somewhere presumeably working as a pharmacist. There is no impaired practitioner program in Florida. If he were reported he would lose his license. So far, no one has had the stomach to throw a net over the guy.

..and that would be one of those things...

I have no fear of being the one to throw the net. Being a crappy, unlikable person is one thing--breaking the law is another. That's where I draw the line. You commit a felony, I report you. Period.

 

[imperial frog]

It's a shame that I can be trusted to tell a patient all about their medicine, side effects, medical condition but if another employer asks me about a former tech, I have to lie.

What's up with that?

If HR has a policy of only allowing you to confirm employment (as is increasingly becoming the standard) it's not a lie.

 

[baggywrinkle]

..and that would be one of those things...

I have no fear of being the one to throw the net. Being a crappy, unlikable person is one thing--breaking the law is another. That's where I draw the line. You commit a felony, I report you. Period.

I was really suprised at the hands off policies of two large corperations. Word had it that management at WAGS was livid that it made the news. Shove your garbage under the rug and hope it doesn't stink...

This guy needs help

 

[bananaface]

You commit a felony, I report you. Period.

I wish more companies/people would actively report things instead of just moving the problem somewhere else.

 

[vafcarrot]

Who do you report to?