Employer Rights

• California law gives employers the right to provide truthful information about the reason for employee termination to other employers during reference checks. Employers can also answer questions about whether the employee could be rehired. The employer can also give information about an employee's job performance, abilities and qualifications to the reference-checker.
  
  

Service Letters

• A service letter is a written document that details the reason for an employee's termination. While some states require employers to provide employees with a service letter upon request, California law only requires public utility companies to do so. Employees of other types of businesses and organizations can request a service letter, but their employer isn't obligated to write one.
  
  

Company Policy

• Even though California law allows employers to disclose information about an employee to other employers, many companies have policies that sharply restrict what a manager or human resources representative can say while giving a reference. This is because a former employee may sue a company for defamation if the employee believes that a negative reference is inaccurate or malicious. Information about what can be disclosed while giving a reference can sometimes be found in a company's employee handbook or human resources policies.
  
  

Background Checks

• In addition to reference checks, some employers may run comprehensive background checks on potential employees. California laws protecting employee privacy is stricter than in many states and requires employers who use third-party background check services to obtain an employee's permission before authorizing the background investigation. Employers who perform their own background checks must provide employees with copies of any public records obtained during the background check if an employee requests them.