1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; providing immunity for 
  1.3             employment references given in good faith; proposing 
  1.4             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [181.865] [GOOD FAITH REFERENCE PROTECTION 
  1.7   ACT.] 
  1.8      Any employer or authorized employee or agent acting on 
  1.9   behalf of an employer who, upon request by a prospective 
  1.10  employer or a current or former employee, provides fair and 
  1.11  unbiased written or verbal information about a current or former 
  1.12  employee's job performance is presumed to be acting in good 
  1.13  faith and is immune from civil liability for the disclosure and 
  1.14  the consequences of the disclosure.  
  1.15     The presumption of good faith established in this section 
  1.16  may be rebutted by a preponderance of evidence that the 
  1.17  information disclosed was knowingly false, deliberately 
  1.18  misleading, disclosed for a malicious purpose, or in violation 
  1.19  of a civil right of the employee or former employee.