Does my employer have to give me a reference letter?
In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side
Short answer
In Quebec, an employer is not required to provide a letter of recommendation. However, at the expiry of the contract of employment, the employee may require the employer to issue a work certificate stating only the nature and duration of the employment, the beginning and end of their duties, and the employer's name and address (s. 84 of the Act respecting labour standards).
In detail
The distinction is a clear one. A work certificate is factual and may be required at the expiry of the contract of employment. A letter of recommendation is an assessment, and nothing in the Act requires an employer to write one.
The Act goes further: a work certificate may not state the quality of the work or the conduct of the employee. An employer who added a negative assessment to it would not be complying with section 84.
An employer who refuses to issue the certificate that was requested is in breach of the Act. The employee may contact the CNESST (Quebec's labour standards, health and safety board).
What to document
Your written request for the certificate and its date, the reply you received, the certificate itself, along with your start and end dates and your exact title. A request made in writing leaves a trace where a verbal request leaves none.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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And to put it in order: our free tools · number your exhibits, set your facts in date order, request a copy of your file. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Official sources
- Act respecting labour standards (CQLR, c. N-1.1) · Légis Québec
- CNESST (MALNT) · Certificate of employment
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.