Do new potential employers require letter of recommendation from previous employer?

[UpennRN]

Has anyone experienced the need to obtain letters of recommendation/provide evals? I am a very competent new nurse with positive feedback from my managers. However, our turnover is so high, nurses are always unhappy, it's a negative environment, and I heard my managers can be spiteful/sabotage your next move. They make it impossible to transfer within the hospital, so I am thinking of applying elsewhere.

[Clovery]

I believe it's a requirement that each employee file has two letters of recommendation or documentation that their references were contacted. It's something that the state or accrediting entity looks for when they do inspections. I don't think it matters who the letters are from as long as they are professional references. When an employer is checking your background and calling your previous jobs, your previous employer should just be verifying your dates of employment and that's it. It's different when you list them as a reference, then they are allowed to offer more information.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I believe that PP may be mistaken. Accreditation agencies do not dictate hiring practices. In the US, healthcare employers are required to conduct background checks, but there is no requirement for 'references' or 'recommendation'. Organizations can make their own rules in this regard. Accreditation surveyors may From an HR standpoint, this type of information (supplied by the applicant) is not given much weight - we all know how to get great letters of reference, right? Instead, they rely on direct contact with previous employers to verify dates of employment and whether or not you left in good standing (eligible for rehire).

[AmyRN303, BSN, RN]

It may depend on individual state law. In my state prospective employers are only allowed to ask previous employers about dates of employment and verify pay rate.

[elkpark]

I've never applied for any job (and I've applied for plenty over many years) that asked me to submit letters of recommendation. Typically, US employers ask you to provide contact information for two or three references (in addition to your prior employers), if they ask for references above and beyond previous employers, and they contact those references directly. I agree with HouTX; employers are well aware that letters supplied by a potential employee have little meaning (they can easily be forged ...)

I would be interested in knowing what state AmyRN is in, and whether it is truly a violation of state law to ask a previous employer for more than dates of employment and wages. I've run into a lot of people over the years who believe that it is "illegal" for a previous employer to release more than employment dates, salary info, and eligibility for rehire. However, in the states in which I've lived over the years, employers have been legally free to say as much as they want to about a previous employee as long as the information is true. Lots of employers have a policy of not disclosing more than employment dates and eligibility for rehire, but there is nothing legally preventing them from doing so (in the several states in which I've lived and worked over the years). I realize state laws do vary, and that's why I would be interested in investigating whether this is actually law in AmyRN's state.