Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts

Reference tells salary

My boss left my current company 2 weeks ago. I went for an interview and put him as reference for me. The company i was applying for asked him how much i made. Ex boss said in the 50's. The position i am aplying for is 55-70k i have good experience and good fit for job. I told new employer i make 63k. HR said ok and i'm sure you'll want a bit more than that...i said that would be nice. I got an offer of 62k 1k less than what i said i was making. Is this illegal to ask a reference how much i make and reference telling them?


Asked on 6/06/08, 6:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Christina Montgomery Law Office of Christina L. Montgomery

Re: Reference tells salary

Your prospective employer can ask your former employer your salary and your former employer can tell - unless you had a written agreement for this information to be confidential. And, in your case, it wasn't even your former "employer" it was an individual who no longer works for your old company who told.

Read more
Answered on 6/20/08, 2:52 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Massachusetts