It has become common practice for employers not to comment on former employees at all, beyond confirming a person’s work in the most neutral terms. The failure of Papp’s defamation lawsuit shows this approach is overly cautious. As Kler described it, Stokes thought he could mention the interpersonal problems and still give an overall positive reference. “Unfortunately that’s the one factor that Mr. Stokes could not comment on positively,” said Kler. Asked if he would rehire him, Stokes said “no way.”That killed his prospects for the Yukon job.

Source: National Post April 20, 2017 14:37 UTC