Davis V. the Board of County Commissioners of Doña Ana County

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Assignment #1: Davis v. The Board of County Commissioners of Doña Ana County Terralynn Goff HRM 510 Professor Damaris Garrett 1/23/2013 Davis v. The Board of County Commissioners of Doña Ana County Virtually every employer will be contacted at some point by a potential new employer of an ex-employee, seeking information regarding the ex-employee. How much information should the employer give? Should the employer simply provide confirmation of the dates of employment, or should an honest evaluation of the ex-employee’s performance be given, or should the employer refuse to give any information whatsoever? The answer, as so often happens, is not as simple as it may seem. Generally, employers have a qualified privilege for employment references, meaning an employer should be immune from liability for giving truthful information regarding a former employee. However, this may be cold comfort when an employer is later sued by the former employee for defamation or interference with a prospective business relationship, claiming that the information given was inaccurate or misleading. Unfortunately, by the time it is shown to a court that there can be no liability for the statements made by the employer, tens of thousands of dollars can easily have been spent in defense of the lawsuit, and never to be recovered (Kleiman, 2006). In the case, Davis v. The Board of County Commissioners of Doña Ana Co., 987 P. 2d 1172 (N.M. Ct. App.1999), a mental health technician employed by the county was investigated for allegedly sexually harassing female inmates under his authority at a detention center. The investigation revealed inappropriate conduct, and the technician was informed that disciplinary action would be sought at a hearing scheduled by the employer. The technician voluntarily resigned before the scheduled hearing. Upon his resignation, the employee asked for a

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