HB 4296 Text

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.

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