How much may an employer disclose about the reason for an employee’s
discipline or discharge without being subject to liability for defamation? A
recent decision held that statements to the local media about a hospital offical’s
discharge for billing fraud were protected by the employer’s qualified
privilege.
Although an employer may be liable for inaccurate communications that are
damaging to an employee’s reputation, otherwise defamatory statements are
protected by a "qualified privilege" when made in good faith to
persons sharing a common interest. To qualify for the privilege, the
communication must be made for a proper purpose and the employer must have
reasonable grounds to believe the statement is true. If the employer’s
communication is entitled to the qualified privilege, then the employee cannot
prevail in a defamation suit unless he or she can prove the employer abused the
privilege, either by acting out of ill will or with disregard for the truth of
the
