Human Resource Blog

Employment Verifications

When I worked for a company in HR before, they constantly put it in my head that when answering questions reguarding past employment we were unable to give information on whether the applicant was rehirable, if we had a rehire policy, or if their release from the company was voluntary or involuntary. I am now with a company that states that it is ok to answer the question “are they rehirable with your company?”…could you please clarify?

Yes, we are happy to clarify. This is a matter of company policy. There are HR laws, and then there are company policies. Every employer must follow HR laws. However, each company can establish their own policies — they can be wildly different from one company to another. For example, one company may grant 4 weeks of paid vacation and another may grant none.

Each company determines what information they will give out regarding former employees. This is a tricky issue — an employer who gives too much negative information may be sued. Some companies will give virtually no information — which makes it hard for even the best employees to find another job.

Many, many employers will give out information on whether the employee is rehirable or not. In most states, it an employer who does so need not fear that the company will be successfully sued. Because this is the policy at your current company, you should follow it.