H. B. 4296
(By Delegates Craig, Amores, Morgan and Leach)
[Introduced January 31, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §55-7-18a, relating
to providing employer immunity from liability for disclosing
job-related information concerning an employee or former
employee to a prospective employer.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §55-7-18a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. ACTIONS FOR INJURIES.
§55-7-18a. Employer immunity from liability; disclosure of
information regarding former employees.
(a) Any employer or his or her designated agent who discloses
job-related information about a former or current employee to a
prospective employer of the former or current employee is presumed
to be acting in good faith and is immune from civil liability for
the disclosure or its consequences.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the presumption of good
faith is rebutted upon a showing, by clear and convincing evidence,
that the information disclosed was:
(1) knowingly false;
(2) disclosed with reckless disregard for the truth;
(3) deliberately misleading;
(4) rendered with malicious purpose toward the former or
current employee; or
(5) disclosed in violation of a nondisclosure agreement or
applicable law.
(c) For purposes of this section, "job-related information"
means information concerning a person's education, training,
experience, qualifications, conduct and job performance which is
offered for the purpose of providing criteria to evaluate the
person's suitability for employment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide employer immunity
from civil liability for disclosing job-related information
concerning an employee or former employee to a prospective
employer.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.