Labor and Employment Law Weekly Update (Week of August 22, 2011)

A Negative Job Reference Can Lead to a Claim of Retaliation

Providing negative job references to prospective employers about one of your former employees could constitute unlawful retaliation in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and similar anti-discrimination laws.

In Male v. Tops Markets, LLC, (http://tinyurl.com/3sk4qmm) a federal court in New York ruled in favor of a former employee, who claimed that the company provided negative job references to potential employers in retaliation for her having filed an earlier lawsuit and charge of discrimination. She claimed that in response to a question from a prospective employer regarding what kind of employee she had been, and would be, the former employer responded that she was a good employee the first couple of years, but thereafter began having personal problems that spilled over into her professional life, and missed and was late for work because of her personal and medical issues.

The court ruled the former employee's allegations were sufficient to support a claim of unlawful retaliation...