California Employees Defamation Blog
— Written by Paul Greenberg
Why an Employees Defamation Blog?
In the course of more than 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.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can ... destroy my reputation."
Defamation Liability Related to Workplace Investigations
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 hav…
Examples of Defamatory Criticism of Work Performance
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 su…
Defamatory Defense: What is the Absolute Privilege?
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 kind…
Defamation Defense: What is the Conditional Privilege?
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 t…
Defenses to Defamation
California law recognizes a number of defenses to defamation claims. Some of the most major defenses to defamation are:
• Truth: proof that a defamatory statement is true is a complete defense because falsity is an essential element of both slander and libel.
• The alleged defamatory statement wa…
Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Words Can Destroy My Reputation
June 2014 – In an article published in Advocate: Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California, partner Iris Weinmann gives an overview of defamation claims, especially defamation by employers against employees.
View the full article
What Qualifies as Actionable Defamation: Fact vs. Opinion
Not every false, offensive, and mean-spirited remark will justify a defamation suit. It is not enough that a statement is inherently hurtful and injurious to your reputation. For it to be actionable, a statement must assert or at least imply a false fact about you. A mere expression of opinion is n…
What is the Statute of Limitations for Defamation and When Does it Begin to Run?
California’s statute of limitations for defamation is one year. Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. § 340(c). Because the “rule of discovery” applies to defamation, the one year statute of limitations does not begin to run until the defamed victim actually discovers or reasonably should have discov…
My Employer Has Published False Critisism About My Work Performance. Does California Law Allow That?
The publication, whether oral or written, 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. Employers often argue that they are immune from l…
What is Defamation and Why Does it Matter in the Employment Context?
Good character takes a lifetime to build. "It is probably the dearest possession that a man has, and once lost is almost impossible to regain. The possession of a good reputation is conducive to happiness in life and contentment. The loss of it, . . . brings shame, misery and heartache." McCoy v. H…
Defamation 101
What are the elements of defamation?
The elements of a defamation claim are:
A publication of a false statement to a person/persons other than the plaintiff;
The person/persons who heard the statement reasonably understood that the statement was about plaintiff; and
Reasonably understand the…