Texas Employment Letter Laws
State laws govern liability for information that employers release in their job reference letters or performance evaluations. Most states allow employers to provide negative employment letters. However, since employees can sue their former employers for interfering with their chances of finding new employment, employers are often apprehensive and overly cautious when writing employment letters.
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Texas Law
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In 1999, the Texas Legislature passed a new law governing job references and employment defamation suits based on negative references. The new law -- Sections 103.001 through 103.005 of the Texas Labor Code -- in most cases shields former employers from legal liability for defamation after giving negative evaluations of their former employees. But the Texas Workforce Commission warns employers of the potential legal implications that can result from providing untrue statements.
Standard
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Under the new Texas law, an employer who releases subsequent job information or provides a negative employment letter is only shielded from liability if he provides a true evaluation. However, if the employer gives another employer information that he knows to be false and in reckless disregard of the truth, an employee can sue her former employer for slander or defamation. The legal standard in Texas is that an employer cannot disclose information that he knows is untrue just to act maliciously.
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Federal Law
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Federal anti-discrimination laws preempt Texas' employment laws. An employer who provides a performance evaluation or recommendation letter can be held accountable of violating the federal equal employment opportunity laws. If an employer's sole reason for providing a negative reference was based on a former employee's exercise of a protected right or was discriminatory based on age, race, religion, gender, disability or genetic information, the employer is engaging in retaliatory and discriminatory conduct.
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