| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 279 FILED ON: 1/7/2025 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2147 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Joseph D. McKenna |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to employee references. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Joseph D. McKenna18th Worcester1/7/2025 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 279 FILED ON: 1/7/2025 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2147 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2147) of |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Joseph D. McKenna relative to employee reference liability. Labor and Workforce |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Development. |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 1920 OF 2023-2024.] |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | An Act relative to employee references. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 149 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is amended |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 2by inserting at the end of Section 52C. the following new section: -- |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 3 SECTION 52D. (A) Unless otherwise provided by law, an employer, or an employer’s |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 4designee, who discloses information about a current or former employee to a prospective |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 5employer of the employee shall be absolutely immune from civil liability if the disclosed |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 6information includes any or all of the following: (1) date of employment; (2) pay level; (3) job |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 7description and duties; and (4) wage history. An employer who responds in writing to a written |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 8request concerning a former employee from a prospective employer of that employee shall be |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 9absolutely immune from civil liability if the disclosed information includes either or both of the |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 10following: (1) written employee evaluations which were conducted prior to the employee’s 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 11separation from the employer; and (2) whether the employee was voluntarily or involuntarily |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 12released from service and the reasons for the separation. |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 13 (B) This section shall apply to causes of action accruing on and after the effective date of |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 14this act. |
|---|