HB 2015 Text

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2015

(By Delegates Amores, Michael, Craig,
Morgan, Leach, Howard and Sobonya)

(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 11, 2005]

A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto new section, designated §55-7-18a, relating to the creation of a presumption of good faith and grant of immunity for employers who disclose job-related information about current and former employees to prospective employers.

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 purpose of this section, the presumption of good faith is rebutted and immunity is lost upon a showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that the information disclosed by the former employer or his or her designated agent 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 the purposes of this section, "job-related information" means a person's education, training, experience, qualifications, conduct, and job performance to be used for the purpose of evaluating the person for employment.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide employer immunity from civil liability for job related information disclosed regarding former employees.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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