Suppose one of your employees files an EEOC charge or reports some other statutory violation by your company. Then s/he resigns. You are not sorry to see him or her leave. You even fantasize about getting back at him/her. Then one day a prospective employer calls you for a reference on that very same employee. You let loose and tell the reference-seeker exactly what you think of your former employee. It may not be nice, you reason, but it's true, so it's not defamation. Since s/he is no longer your employee you do not have to worry about a retaliation claim. Think again! Really? How can that be? The law says employers cannot retaliate against employees. Ex-employees are not employees anymore. So what gives? In fact, a number of anti-retaliation laws do cover retaliatory actions against former employees. Read on after the jump to learn more...

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