The Risks Associated with Employer References
Saturday, November 15th, 2008Employer references have always been a key aspect of the job interview process. People on both sides have valued what a past employer can say. Yet more and more employers and employees are less and less willing to use this valuable resource. Let’s take a look at what lies behind this changing trend.
More and more as time goes by, fewer and fewer employers are asking for references. Although there are probably more reasons why this has happened, the two main reasons are listed below.
1.Sometimes people put down fake references. Employers have discovered on more than one occasion that the references a person puts on their resume were people that they had never worked for, and are often just good friends who agreed to say some positive things about the individual they are inquiring about. This, of course, is bad for the person who attempted such an action as truthfulness is an important part of any interview process. Unfortunately the practice of a few has caused many employers to lend a skeptical eye to the whole area of references.
Taking a deeper look into why a person may feel he needs to “pad his references”, it normally stems from a fear or concern that his past employer will not give him a good reference and thus blow his chances of gaining a new position. Sometimes this fear may be based on less than ideal reasons for leaving the past position, or sometimes it may be based on basic insecurities the individual may be having regarding the hiring process in general.
Although it is understandable that a person wants to have positive references for the potential employer, the better solution to this is to arrange with the past employer that he can be used as a reference, and agree to what the past employer will say. If the person is not satisfied with the proposed reference statement, the person can choose not to use that individual as the reference, or he may request that only confirmation of employment be given.
2.Some past employers are worried that if they do not give a suitable reference it will come back to them in the form of a lawsuit. This concern started cropping up more and more in the 1990s. For example, in 1998, The Buffalo Business Journal, published an article entitled, “Giving References Termed ‘Lawsuits Waiting to Happen’”. The article discuses how the subject of references has actually become uncomfortable for employers and employees.
The employees are concerned about what the past employer may say about them that has negative connotations, and the employers are worried that references given, if not satisfactory with the past employees’ expectations may lead to lawsuits claiming defamation, retaliation, or even fraud. This situation was being identified as the underlying cause for employers adopting more and more the policy to provide nothing thing more than confirmation of employment and dates of employment.
There are some companies however, that have resolved this issue by developing policy and procedure for the giving of references. Examples of successful reference policies include providing only written references, only giving references in response to requests, and references only being provided by a limited number of people, such as the direct manager or the appropriate person in the Human Resources Dept.
There are now states, such as North Dakota that have enacted laws that grant immunity from civil lawsuits to employers who provide references.
