In 2004, Rep. Stan Lee sponsored a bill that allowed employers to divulge information about former employees to prospective employers.
We need the same thing for our law enforcement agencies.
Most of our police officers in Kentucky serve valiantly and regularly go above and beyond the call of duty. But some of the few bad apples plague the system. The problems they present persist because they just bounce around from one department to another.
Public safety demands this be changed.
Currently, a problematic officer can leave his current position (or be fired) and go elsewhere. When the hiring agency calls for a reference, the former employer can only state the dates of employment. If the former employer tries to warn the prospective employer against making the hire, his agency would be open to legal action.
A truth-in-hiring law for law enforcement agencies would alleviate this potentially dangerous loophole in the system.
