Against company policy???

[yourstrulyjmc]

I've worked at a small, private hospital as a per diem, float CNA for 2 years and I needed a reference for a new RN job. Originally, I was told by my nursing supervisor that it was fine to list the CNO as a reference; she was even enthusiastic about it. The investigating company called me today saying that my job told them it was against company policy for them to give me a reference. I called HR and they confirmed this, saying that they could only confirm dates of employment and that's it.

I'm just wondering why it would be against policy to give a reference... I've never heard of that before.

Thanks.

[yourstrulyjmc]

Anyone?

[rngolfer53]

Only providing dates of employment is quite common. Employers grew tired of being sued by those who got a perceived poor reference.

[Everline]

Yes, it's pretty common from what I know. Many employers will not give references other than to verify dates of employment and that's because of the reason already specified here—namely, legal reasons (avoiding lawsuits).

[itsnowornever, BSN, RN]

Do you have individual coworkers who would vouch for you?

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

My workplace is the same, will only verify dates of employment, will not provide reference. Try asking your charge nurse or coworker for a reference.