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H2147 • 2025

An Act relative to employee references

An Act relative to employee references

Labor
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Joseph D. McKenna
Last action
2026-03-05
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5180
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act relative to employee references

An Act relative to employee references By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act relative to employee references By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 2147) of Joseph D.
  • McKenna relative to employee reference liability.
  • Labor and Workforce Development.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-05 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5180

  2. 2025-10-14 House

    Reporting date extended to Wednesday, December 3, 2025

  3. 2025-07-09 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 07/15/2025 from 10:30 AM-01:00 PM in B-2

  4. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Labor and Workforce Development

  5. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act relative to employee references
By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2147) of Joseph D. McKenna relative to employee reference liability. Labor and Workforce Development.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
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Bill H.2147

Chapter 149 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is amended by inserting at the end of Section 52C. the following new section: --

SECTION 52D. (A) Unless otherwise provided by law, an employer, or an employer’s designee, who discloses information about a current or former employee to a prospective employer of the employee shall be absolutely immune from civil liability if the disclosed information includes any or all of the following: (1) date of employment; (2) pay level; (3) job description and duties; and (4) wage history.

An employer who responds in writing to a written request concerning a former employee from a prospective employer of that employee shall be absolutely immune from civil liability if the disclosed information includes either or both of the following: (1) written employee evaluations which were conducted prior to the employee’s separation from the employer; and (2) whether the employee was voluntarily or involuntarily released from service and the reasons for the separation.

(B) This section shall apply to causes of action accruing on and after the effective date of this act.

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