Defamation of Character & Claims of Stealing in the Workplace

Defamation of character is the act of making false statements about someone that injures his reputation. Increasingly, employees are blaming former employers for negative references that make it difficult to find new jobs. This leads to the potential for defamation suits against employers.

Defamatory Statement

Accusing an employee or former employee of theft would definitely injure her reputation and would be a defamatory statement. It is also a statement of fact, rather than an opinion, which would not be actionable.

Untrue

However, the accusation would have to be false for the employee to have a successful case.

Unprivileged

Defamatory statements are absolutely privileged in judicial proceedings and the victim of such statements would not be able to win a defamation suit. Employers may have a conditional or qualified privilege in such activities as giving references or performance reviews. This privilege is present if the employer acts honestly, reasonably and under appropriate circumstances and to persons with a legitimate business interest in hearing the statements.

Publication

For an employee to recover damages, the employer must have "published" or told someone else about the accusation. The employer may be held to have published the accusation if he could reasonably foresee that the employee would have to disclose the accusation himself. For instance, if the employee feels compelled to tell her fellow employees that she was fired because she was accused of stealing, she can recover for defamation.

References

• Findlaw: Avoiding Defamation in the Workplace, Giving References and Disciplining Employees While Avoiding Liability.
• Face Intel: Defamation.

Resources

• Justia: Firing and Wrongful Termination.