Q: When I am hanging out with my HR friends, we frequently discuss employees we wish we’d never hired and that none of the rest of us should ever hire. Is this a problem?

A: Everyone talks shop but be careful about making it too personal. This could potentially be a problem under Iowa Code § 730.1 and 730.2 which prohibits blacklisting. Blacklisting is an attempt to prevent a terminated employee from getting a job elsewhere “except by furnishing in writing on request a truthful statement as to the cause of the person’s discharge.” This is known as the blacklisting statute and could result in potential liability for you as an employer.