I just left my old job of 11 years, in good terms.. yet, when my prospective new job called for a reference, all they would say is that "yes, i worked there"... I looked everywhere to see what the law is.. How much do they legally need to say, and how much does a new job need... by the way, i saved all of my yearly evaluations on hard copy which were all very good.. so i dont understand...???

thanks.. terb

Because we live in such a litigious society, many employers have gotten into the mode of simply confirming employment dates, titles, and salaries and not providing any additional information. They are afraid that if they go beyond that and Joe doesn't get the job, then Joe will turn around and sue them.

There are no laws that require employers to provide any references. Most prospective employers understand that they may only be able to confirm dates of employment with past employers. It's good that you have your evaluations -- you may be able to use those. You may be able to get someone who has left the company and is no longer bound by its reference policy to provide additional information.

To answer your questions literally, they legally need to say nothing at all, and what a new employer needs depends on the new employer.

So many employers have established the policy Marketeer describes, that a great many people erroneously believe that the law prohibits an employer from giving more than minimal information. It's not true in any state; an employer may give as much or as little information as they choose with only very limited exceptions. But they are not obligated to provide any either.