When requested to provide a reference on a former or current employee, an employer acting in good faith is immune from liability for comments about the former employee's job performance. The immunity shall not apply when the reference information supplied was knowingly false or deliberately misleading, was rendered with malicious purpose or violated any civil rights of the former employee.

History: Laws 1995, ch. 152, § 1.

Cross references. — For unlawful acts under the Personnel Act, see 10-9-22 NMSA 1978.

For the Tort Claims Act, see 41-4-1 NMSA 1978.

For limitations on recoverable damages tort actions based on single publication or utterance, see 41-7-1 NMSA 1978.

Where employee resigned, employer's statement that employee "terminated" on a specific date, could not be interpreted as a statement that the employee "was terminated" by the employer. DiMarco v. Presbyterian Healthcare Servs., Inc., 2007-NMCA-053, 141 N.M. 735, 160 P.3d 916, cert. denied, 2007-NMCERT-005, 141 N.M. 762, 161 P.3d 259.

An employee cannot rely on the differences between his evaluation form and the evaluation forms of other employees to prove that an employer did not act in good faith when the disclosures made by the employer were truthful. DiMarco v. Presbyterian Healthcare Servs., Inc., 2007-NMCA-053, 141 N.M. 735, 160 P.3d 916, cert. denied, 2007-NMCERT-005, 141 N.M. 762, 161 P.3d 259.

Law reviews. — For note, "Employment Law an Employer's Duty to Third Parties when Giving Employment Recommendations Davis v. Board of County Commissioners of Dona Ana County," see 30 N.M.L. Rev. 307 (2007).