To be actionable, a defamatory statement must meet the following criteria:
- Libel involves something that is written.
- The writing leads to hatred, contempt, or ridicule,
- Causes the person to be shunned or avoided;
- Injures the person in their occupation.
- Slander involves a spoken publication that:
- Falsely accuses someone of committing a crime;
- Implies the person has an “infectious, contagious, or loathsome” disease;
- Injures the person in their professional life;
- Suggests the person is unchaste or morally corrupt;
- Causes actual damage to the person’s reputation.
Defamation in the Employment Context
In the workplace, defamation may occur in several ways:
- Negative Performance Reviews: False claims of incompetence, lack of ethics, or poor performance.
- Disciplinary Justifications: Using false accusations to justify discipline or termination.
- Negative Job References: Providing false or misleading negative information to potential employers.
- Compelled Self-Publication: Forcing an employee to disclose defamatory reasons for termination to prospective employers.
Important Considerations
- Each publication or republication of the defamatory statement may be actionable if reasonably foreseeable – meaning, your claim may be farther-reaching than you think
Defamation claims must be filed within one year of discovering the defamatory statement.