Defamation (Slander and Libel) in Wrongful Termination Cases
One of the more frustrating events that can happen at work is when you - an employee - are falsely accused of something you haven't done and as a result you are disciplined for it or are fired. Unfortunately, in many instances being terminated due to false accusation is not illegal (although it might be in violation of your union membership rights, if in fact you are a union member). There is a number of situations, where being terminated based on false accusations can be a basis for a defamation lawsuit in court. There are two types of defamation - slander (oral false accusations) or libel (written accusations). There is a number of strict requirements that need to be met in order for an employee to be able to bring a defamation claim:
The false accusation that lead to your employment termination must be (a) false; (b) statement of fact; that (c) damages your reputation by imputing either fraud, or crime, or infidelity, or some kind of embarrassing illness to you; and it must be published either to (d) * anyone outside of group of interested persons (management and possibly other employees and co-workers) or * if it's published internally, there must be evidence of malice in that publication. Further, this publication must not be made during an official proceeding.
Lets consider a number of typical situations at workplace that are very hurtful but do not give rise to an actionable defamation claim:
1. Your manager terminates you after accusing you of theft. A letter was issued to you, stating that you were terminated for stealing. That letter was only issued to you and a copy of it was placed in your confidential personnel file. The manager who terminated you treated you well or at least didn't have any conflicts or issues with you throughout your employment with the company except any typical issues. The truth is that you haven't stolen anything. This kind of situation does not create a defamation claim because the publication is internal only and there is no evidence of malice.
2. You are terminated after receiving a performance review that stated that you are not showing the desired ambition and you are not a team player. You feel that the performance is extremely unfair. Since the above is an expression of opinion and not a fact, there can be no defamation claim based on that kind of peformance review.
3. You are terminated and are not told why. You apply for unemployment benefits, which are denied, and during your unemployment appeals hearing, the employer says that they fired you for falsifying documents or time cards. This statement is not defamation because it's made during an official proceeding (i.e. a court or administrative hearing).
Here are two typical situations that do give rise to a defamation claim:
1. You are terminated, and you find out that your former employer that fired you made the following statement to a potential employer during the reference check: "Employee X is dishonest. He used inflate his work hours in order to overcharge the company." This kind of statement includes a statement of fact that accuses you of something that damages your reputation and it is published outside the interest group - to an outside entity, which is the potential future employer.
2. Your are terminated for falsifying time cards. The manager who terminated you has no reason to believe that this is true or there is evidence that he wanted to get rid of you or set you up in a form of nasty e-mails or converastions between him and other employees, where he made staments such as "his days are counted here, one way or another - just watch and see." This can be used to prove malice and make even an internal publication actionable as defamatory.
A defamation lawsuit can be an effective way to vindicate the rights of a terminated employee and lead to a substantial settlement or trial verdict. However, it is critical to evaluate the potential claim against all of the above-referenced elements in order to make sure that your claim is viable and you won't spend a lot of money and many hours of work before you find out months or longer down the road that you don't have a case because one of the technical elements is missing.
The false accusation that lead to your employment termination must be (a) false; (b) statement of fact; that (c) damages your reputation by imputing either fraud, or crime, or infidelity, or some kind of embarrassing illness to you; and it must be published either to (d) * anyone outside of group of interested persons (management and possibly other employees and co-workers) or * if it's published internally, there must be evidence of malice in that publication. Further, this publication must not be made during an official proceeding.
Lets consider a number of typical situations at workplace that are very hurtful but do not give rise to an actionable defamation claim:
1. Your manager terminates you after accusing you of theft. A letter was issued to you, stating that you were terminated for stealing. That letter was only issued to you and a copy of it was placed in your confidential personnel file. The manager who terminated you treated you well or at least didn't have any conflicts or issues with you throughout your employment with the company except any typical issues. The truth is that you haven't stolen anything. This kind of situation does not create a defamation claim because the publication is internal only and there is no evidence of malice.
2. You are terminated after receiving a performance review that stated that you are not showing the desired ambition and you are not a team player. You feel that the performance is extremely unfair. Since the above is an expression of opinion and not a fact, there can be no defamation claim based on that kind of peformance review.
3. You are terminated and are not told why. You apply for unemployment benefits, which are denied, and during your unemployment appeals hearing, the employer says that they fired you for falsifying documents or time cards. This statement is not defamation because it's made during an official proceeding (i.e. a court or administrative hearing).
Here are two typical situations that do give rise to a defamation claim:
1. You are terminated, and you find out that your former employer that fired you made the following statement to a potential employer during the reference check: "Employee X is dishonest. He used inflate his work hours in order to overcharge the company." This kind of statement includes a statement of fact that accuses you of something that damages your reputation and it is published outside the interest group - to an outside entity, which is the potential future employer.
2. Your are terminated for falsifying time cards. The manager who terminated you has no reason to believe that this is true or there is evidence that he wanted to get rid of you or set you up in a form of nasty e-mails or converastions between him and other employees, where he made staments such as "his days are counted here, one way or another - just watch and see." This can be used to prove malice and make even an internal publication actionable as defamatory.
A defamation lawsuit can be an effective way to vindicate the rights of a terminated employee and lead to a substantial settlement or trial verdict. However, it is critical to evaluate the potential claim against all of the above-referenced elements in order to make sure that your claim is viable and you won't spend a lot of money and many hours of work before you find out months or longer down the road that you don't have a case because one of the technical elements is missing.
