Can potential employers contact my place of work?
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Can potential employers contact my place of work?
I submitted my resume to a restaurant and apparently the manager knows the manager where I currently work, which is listed on my resume. So he contacted him and asked about me, based off not hearing back from them. I’m guessing it didn’t go well. Is it legal for him to contact my employer without my
permission or knowledge?
Asked on August 6, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Of course they can do this: any person can contact any other person, including a potential employer contacting your current employer, unless they agreed contractually (i.e. in writing, as part of the job application process) to not contact your current employer. A job applicant otherwise, if there is no agreement to the contrary, has no control over who a possible employer contacts, and that is one of the risks or problems with seeking new job while still employed--while in many ways it is better (conventional wisdom is you are more likely to be successful in finding a new job while still employed), there is always the risk of the new job contacting the old and suffering consequences from that.
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