Florida Statute Section 768.095 provides limited immunity from civil liability for employers who provide information about former employees to prospective employers. The pertinent statute creates a presumption that a former employer acts in “good faith” when providing prospective employers with information about former employees.

The “good faith” presumption can be lost if the former employer knew that the information provided to the prospective employer was either false or deliberately misleading, was given with “malicious purpose” or violated any civil rights of the former employee which are protected by Florida Statutes Chapter 760, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap or marital status.

In their weekly Boca Raton News column, Hodgson Russ partners Larry Corman and Glenn Rissman discuss strategies employers can use to limit liability in these types of situations.

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