On July 9, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2770. This bill extends privileged communication status to certain communications by employees and employers regarding alleged sexual harassment and continues California’s efforts to address claims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Prior to AB 2770, California law protected as privileged an employer’s responses to questions from prospective employers regarding a former or current employee’s job performance or qualifications, so long as such communications were made without malice and based on credible evidence. Also privileged were an employer’s answer as to whether or not the employer would rehire a current or former employee. Based on this law, employers could not be sued for libel or slander based on these privileged communications.
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