Saturday, September 13, 2025
Dear Erica,
I read your recent response about managers sabotaging references, and it got me thinking. I manage a restaurant, and sometimes other employers call me asking for a reference on a former employee. Legally, what am I allowed to say? Should I stick to something simple like “yes, they worked here,” or can I actually share whether they were a great worker,or not? What’s the safest way to handle reference calls?
– Manager in a Gray Area
Dear Manager in a Gray Area,
I’m glad you caught my last response, this is a great follow-up question.
Legally, you can absolutely keep your response simple by saying something positive like, “They are awesome,” or you can choose to decline to comment altogether. Where it becomes risky is if you share negative or critical feedback. If that information gets back to the former employee, they could claim defamation, slander, interference with prospective economic advantage, or blacklisting.
It can also depend on the state you are in. Some states have laws that provide employers with immunity from lawsuits when they give honest, good faith feedback about an employee’s performance. Even so, because of the potential legal exposure, many employers and managers choose to stick to providing only basic, factual information such as confirming dates of employment and job title without offering any subjective opinions or evaluations.