subject: Workplace Slander Laws And Related Questions [print this page] Slander in the place of employment may lead to a great deal of unpleasantness and an employees reputation being damaged irreparably. If one has experienced slander in the place of employment and has not known how to handle it, one is bound to have questions about fairness, ones rights and the provisions of the law to protect one in situations such as this. Below are a few questions that have been answered regarding slander at the workplace:
If one has experienced slander, how could one sue a company for it?
For one to be able to sue someone for slander, one should be able to prove the following:
A verbal statement was made to someone
This statement was false
The statement was made by a person who was well aware that the statement was false
This statement should have had a negative impact on the reputation of the person about whom it was made.
However, an honest judgment may not be considered as slander.
Is it possible for a person who is working in New Jersey to take legal action (for slander) on co-employees who are spreading rumors that the employee is gay?
The state of New Jersey has laws that prohibit discrimination or harassment depending on an employees sexual orientation. The scenario mentioned above indicates that one is being harassed by the co-workers based on their perception that the employee is gay. If the companys management has not taken action to remedy this, one may file a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights. One may visit the following link for more information regarding this matter - http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/filing.html
One may also consider filing a defamation case against the co-employees. However, it would be tough to prove that there was a negative impact on ones reputation and difficult to find a lawyer who may take up the case on a contingency fee basis.
An employee had faced slander and defamation in the previous company and this is causing hassles in the new company. Is it possible for this employee to sue the previous employer now? Is there a time limit to file a suit?
It is possible for one to file a suit for the defamatory comments that were leveled against him/her. However, one would need to prove that the false comments had a negative impact on the employee. The suit should be filed within one-year.
Consider a situation where a couple of doctors have complained against a registered nurse in Florida to the Director of Nursing. This nurse supplies nurses to a hospital and has been doing this for the past one year and has a clean record. The complaint that was made was that the nurse was unkempt, provided poor quality care, lacked professionalism and had behaved poorly towards them. This nurse has not met one of the doctors who had made a complaint and the other doctor denied having made the complaint. Due to the complaint the nurse cannot work at the hospital anymore. What legal action can the nurse take in this situation?
In the scenario mentioned above, one doctor has denied making a complaint and the other most likely would not have made the complaint. Therefore, one may consider filing a claim for defamation against the Director of Nursing. This would most likely bring out the truth of what has transpired.
Florida is an at will employment state where one may be fired at any point of time for no reason. However, the termination should not be based on aspects such as age, race, gender, disability, religion, national origin, or filing a workers compensation claim. Therefore, in the absence of an employment contract; one may not be able to file a claim for wrongful termination.
One may contact a local employment lawyer to see if one has a chance to file at the least a defamation suit.
One would be required to prove that one was subjected to slander in order to successfully win a suit of slander. It would be in ones best interest to ask an employment lawyer for answers to any legal questions you may have on the subject.
