What can your old boss say about you in a background check?

If you are currently seeking a new job, your future employer will likely conduct a background check that includes contacting several of the places that you used to work. That being said, you should be aware of what your former employees might say about you. Obviously, if you were a standout employee at your old job, you probably do not have anything to worry about. However, no matter what level of performance you provided during your previous employment, it does not hurt to know whose side the law is on when it comes to exactly what a former employer can and cannot say about you.

First of all, it is important to realize that your previous employers can provide any information about you to anyone without violating any federal laws. However, some states do have laws in place that prohibit certain information from being released by an employer when another business is seeking information about a potential employee. You should check the laws for the state that you call home.

Ultimately, though, the attitudes concerning what information to divulge about previous employees differ from one employer to the next. And even within the same office, you never know who might answer the phone when it rings at your previous place of employment. Also, you never know what mood that person will be in at that exact moment when the phone call occurs. Cross your fingers.

In order to avoid potential lawsuits, companies with locations in multiple states often have procedures in place to make sure that staff members only disclose a restricted amount of information to employers who are asking about a former employee. You should consider contacting all of your previous employers to ask what information they provide to other employers about their previous employees. No matter what they tell you, though, when the moment arrives that they are contacted, you really have no way to know for sure what information will be disclosed.