The following information may be disclosed about a current or former employee's employment history to a prospective employer of a current or former employee upon receipt of written consent from the current or former employee:

The consent required in Section 1.0 must be on a separate form from the employment application form, or, if included in the employment application form, must be in bold letters and in larger typeface than the largest typeface in the text of the employment application form. The consent form must state, at a minimum, language similar to the following:

“I, (applicant), hereby give consent to any and all prior employers of mine to provide information with regard to my employment with prior employers to (prospective employer).” The consent must be signed and dated by the applicant The consent will be valid only for the length of time that the application is considered active by the prospective employer, but in no event longer than six (6) months.

The state agency or institution of higher education disclosing such information shall be presumed to be acting in good faith and shall be immune from civil liability for the disclosure or any consequences of such disclosure unless the presumption of good faith is rebutted upon a showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the information disclosed was false and the agency or institution had knowledge of its falsity or acted with malice or reckless disregard for the truth.