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By LAWRENCE MESSINA
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The House of Delegates moved Wednesday to bring West Virginia in line with a majority of states by endorsing a bill that would grant immunity to businesses that criticize former workers to prospective employers.
The measure was among the first batch of bills passed by the House during this year's 60-day session.
In addition to the employer immunity bill, delegates sent to the Senate legislation that would regulate tongue-splitting procedures, criminalize the pirating of movies by videotaping them at theaters and allow the state's regional jails chief to give inmates temporary furloughs to attend funerals and other events.
House Judiciary Chairman Jon Amores told the chamber that 34 states have already adopted an employer immunity measure. The bill passed 80-17.
"It's a small measure that I think improves the business climate in this state,'' Amores, D-Kanawha, said of House Bill 2015. "It's something that helps enhance the state's reputation as a place where businesses want to be.''
The House's labor caucus tried without success Tuesday to amend the bill to require that employers put their comments in writing.
"If you're not willing to do that, don't say it,'' Delegate Dale Martin, D-Putnam, during Tuesday's debate on the amendment. "You could ruin a person's life, you could blacklist them from getting employment, and that's not the intention of this bill.''
The bill allows an employer to discuss a former worker's education, training, experience, qualifications, conduct, and job performance.
A business could be sued only if the former worker had evidence that the information was deliberately misleading, knowingly false or disclosed maliciously, in reckless disregard for the truth or in violation of a confidentiality agreement.
Of the other bills passed Wednesday:
-House Bill 2128 would allow the director of the state's regional jail authority to develop a policy for granting inmate furloughs. Currently only circuit judges have the authority.
Steve Canterbury, executive director of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, said his office recommended 72 furloughs last year out of about 42,500 inmates. All were supervised, the only type Canterbury said his office seeks to grant.
The bill stems from a legislative interim committee study that found while circuit judges always grant furloughs recommended by Canterbury's office, they are not always available to sign furlough orders when needed.
"Judges could still order a release,'' Canterbury said. "This allows us to eliminate a time-consuming and, frankly, unnecessary step.''
-House Bill 2102 would allow only a physician to split tongues, an attention-grabbing procedure now typically done at tattoo or piercing parlors. Medical professionals say tongue splitting can cause excessive bleeding, infection, nerve damage, swelling and a permanent speech impediment, among other problems. Lawmakers also considered the measure last year.
-House Bill 2129 would making movie pirating a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $500. ---
On the Net:
West Virginia Legislature: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/
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