California Employees Defamation Blog

Why an Employees Defamation Blog?

•  Email

In the course of our 25 years representing employees, we have found a great need to protect the reputation and privacy of our clients whose rights were trampled upon in the course of unjust treatment at work. We have noticed that employees often tend to be unaware of their reputational and privacy rights. This is understandable given that the law on defamation and privacy is more complex than other areas of employment law, which in itself is one of the more complex and challenging areas of the law.

Your reputation and privacy are fundamental, and you should know that your employer does not have the right to make false statements about you or unjustifiably snoop into or publicize your personal affairs. We hope this blog will be informative to you and shed light on possible legal rights you might have against your employer and/or an individual who has violated your reputational and privacy rights.

{KomentoDisable}

Making and Responding to CCP 998 Offers in Employment Matters

•  Email

 June 2014 – In an article published in Advocate: Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California, partner Iris Weinmann gives an overview of making and responding to CCP 998 offers.

See Full Article: Making and Responding to CCP 998 Offers and Appeals

Defamation Liability Related to Workplace Investigations

•  Email

Frequently, workplace events give rise to a workplace investigation.  The investigation may be conducted by an in-house HR person or a professional outside investigator.  Workplace investigations play a central role in determining whether to discipline or terminate an employee and can have legal consequences for both employees and employers.  An action for defamation can potentially result if false statements are made to the employee’s detriment.  Although an employer may argue that statements made in the course of a workplace investigation are protected, that privilege would usually be conditional at best, meaning it would be lost if the publication was motivated by malice.  Deaile v. General Telephone Company of California (1974) 40 Cal.App.3d 841, 847.  

Continue reading: Defamation Liability Related to Workplace Investigations

Examples of Defamatory Criticism of Work Performance

•  Email

In an earlier blog entry, we discussed how the publication of false criticism of poor performance, incompetence, or dishonesty—whether made in the context of a performance review or as the employer’s stated reason for the employee’s termination—is defamation per se. An employer may be liable for such defamatory statements subject to a showing of malice. Here are some examples of what California courts have held to be defamatory criticism of work performance:

Continue reading: Examples of Defamatory Criticism of Work Performance

Defamation Defense: What is the Conditional Privilege?

•  Email

California Civil Code § 47(c) grants a conditional privilege against defamation to communications made without malice and on subjects of common interest. This conditional privilege is often used by employers to argue that they should be protected from liability for statements made about employees to other employees in the employer’s organization. Critical to determining whether the conditional privilege is even applicable is 1) whether the allegedly defamatory communication was made on a matter of common interest and 2) whether the employer acted without malice in making the statement. Only if both of these requirements are met can an employer be immune from liability for his or her statements.

Continue reading: Defamation Defense: What is the Conditional Privilege?

Defamatory Defense: What is the Absolute Privilege?

•  Email

 Another defense to defamation is the absolute privilege. California Civil Code § 47(a) and (b) provide a limited set of circumstances in which an employer is relieved of any liability or responsibility for his statements even if they were published with malice. In general, there are five kinds of statements that are absolutely privileged:

Continue reading: Defamatory Defense: What is the Absolute Privilege?