Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Employer to employee confidence

Can an employer upon denying an appication for a position tell another potential employee why they did not hire that individual without approval, and if so can they than refuse to give the same information to the employee who was denyed the position?


Asked on 9/03/00, 9:20 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Wright Law Offices of David Wright

Re: Employer to employee confidence

I've never heard of any type of rule which requires an employer to provide any reason to anyone, for not hiring an employee. Nor have I ever heard of a rule barring the disclosure by an employer of his reason(s) for not hiring someone.

It's a stupid thing for the employer to do, though, since the statements may well be slanderous, if they are a false statement of fact about the former applicant.

I've never seen a case, but the former applicant might also argue that he/she imparted information to the employer, in confidence and with an expectation of privacy. If the information was sensitive or confidential, its disclosure to others, might well be actionable.

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Answered on 10/05/00, 2:01 pm


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