Consider the scenario from the Unit 4 assignment. Assume the custodian gets fired under the last-chance agreement and subsequently applies for another custodial position at a neighboring college. Assume also that the last-chance agreement does not prohibit you from giving a reference to a prospective employer. The college is in a state that protects employers in giving references to other employers if the references are accurate and given in good faith.
Can you tell the neighboring college that Culp was fired? If you hide that fact when asked by the neighboring college, will you risk being secondarily liable if he injures someone while performing custodial duties under the influence of alcohol at the neighboring college?
Here is the Unit 4 Scenario:
You are the vice president for facilities and planning at a large community college. The supervisor for building and grounds at the college calls Friday afternoon at 2:00 to report that one of the college custodians, Steve Culp, has returned from his lunch an hour late and is sitting on an overturned bucket, refusing the direction of his supervisor to return to work. The supervisor says Culp smells of alcohol and is acting drunk.
The supervisor tells you that while Culp has been sitting on the bucket refusing to work or move, the supervisor has searched the custodian’s locker provided by the college. In the pocket of Culp’s jacket, which the college provides as part of the custodian’s regulation uniform, the supervisor reports finding crack cocaine.
The supervisor indicates that, according to his medical file, the custodian has been hospitalized for inpatient chemical dependency within the last two years utilizing the college’s health insurance. The custodian’s personnel file, which is kept in the human resources office separate from the medical information, contains a Last Chance Agreement dated one year ago, whereby the custodian agreed to termination if found under the influence of alcohol on the job.
