What to do about slander by a co-worker?
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What to do about slander by a co-worker?
My wife is a manager in a grocery store and one of her workers is diabetic. This person wanted to be moved out of that department to another and the director refused. The employee then stated that my wife was making fun of her for being diabetic which was a flat out lie. Subsequently they moved her. Does my wife have any legal recourse? This was and outright lie and slanderous accusation.
Asked on October 24, 2017 under Personal Injury, Michigan
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Theoretically, she could sue for defamation: defamation is the making to other people of an untrue factual statement or assertion which damages a person's reputation, and a false statement that your wife made fun of a diabetic would qualify as defamation. But you can only recover compensation equivalent to the *provable* harm or economic loss you suffered (the law only provides compensation for provable losses). If your wife cannot show some provable loss, she won't recover any money even if she wins--which means she could spend more on suing that she could get back.
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