I strongly believe certain topics should not be mentioned by former employers when potential employers are calling. It could be detrimental to someone’s potential career. I understand confirming if an employee has worked at a certain company but it should be completely illegal for a former employer to say anything other than “yes or no, they have/haven’t worked here” and the years worked. That should be the extent. Your last position doesn’t determine your future career somewhere else, especially if your former employer holds a grudge. I know in Law Enforcement particularly there is a lot of gossip from one agency to another and they aren’t held accountable.
I know there are some laws regarding this in place but let’s start making it more strict.