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I am a federal employee in doing my regular duties one day I called a business service (broker) and advised them of a possible penalty and to research the information and call me back the next day. When I did not hear from them the afternoon of the next day, I call again, I was given a lame excuse so I then said well I guess I have to do penalty. He owner husband wrote up to the highest level who in turn have me investigated for been unprofessional. He was highly unset because getting a penalty would mean loosen a customer for an error on his behalf so he lashes out at me. Can I sue him? This has never happened to me. I was never unprofessional. to anyone, most people does not like a lot of things we say to them I do not think that is unpofessional.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: United States
Hi, and Welcome to JustAnswer, Thank you for your questionMy name isXXXXX am an Attorney and would be glad to help, I am sorry that your comment generated such a reaction. I am sure it was not called for. Unfortunately, someone's "opinion" or "perception" of how they are spoken to by a government employee does not give the government employee a right to sue the person who was expressing their opinion.
I wish I could give you the answer you were hoping for and it would have given me great pleasure to do so, but I have an ethical obligation to give correct Answers, so please try not to hold the law applicable to your situation against me,
The law does not always support our position and justice is not always just.
I wish you the best, ANDREA
I think you really did not read my statement you jump to a conclusion on me being wrong. First of all, I did not speak to this person, my conversation seeking a remedy not to issue a penalty to the importer (owner) of the merchandise for negligence was with an employee of the office. Secondly the conversation was the same as usual, research the situation and let me know if it is an error, normal. Threatening me to write me up every time he feels like it is not safe, and doing it because he is upset over an error they commit ed is not legal. Then every employee will be a target to every irate person they did not speak with to resolve a problem. Every have a right to a petition on any matter i was given then that right in advance that would save every one a bad time. You are saying he has the right to ruin my life and I accept it because he is giving his opinion about me.
Idid, in fact, read your statement in full and did not jump to any conclusions. In your original statement, you said, "indoing my regular duties one day Icalled a business service (broker) andadvised them of a possible penalty and to research the information andcall me back the next day..........". You then stated,
"...ownerhusband wrote up to the highest levelwho in turn have [sic] me investigated for been [sic] unprofessional.........". The reader cannot interpret this as speakingto a fellow employee, nor that it wasthe follow employee who "wrote you up" and had you investigated. I apologize for any miscommunication, but I have no way of knowing what youintended to say. It is only in yourpresent reply that you say that you were speaking to a "fellow employee". I did not say that anyone has a right to ruin your life. If it is afellow employee who is giving you all this trouble and misrepresenting to uppermanagement that you do not speak to others in a professional manner, then your recourse is to file a formalcomplaint with the Human Resources Department or a similar designated office within your group. Please understand that not every situation will support a lawsuit,especially if these situations arise in the work place. That is why one of the functions of the Human Resources Department is to resolve disputesamong employees. I wish I could give you the answer you were hoping for and it would have givenme great pleasure to have been able to tell you, "Yes, the law provides a remedy for you and allows you to sue this individual" , but I have an ethical obligation to give correct Answers, So please try not to hold it against me that the law does not support lawsuits in this particular situation. The law does not always support our position, and justice is not always just. Thank you for bringing your question to JustAnswer, ANDREA
You are way off track on everything I wrote. This person is not an employee of the Federal Government. He is an employee in the office that I called. I did not speak with him, we had not contact whatsoever. He wrote the letter because he made the error and was upset about getting a penalty. I did a courtesy by trying to resolve it. I did not have to call them just penalize the importer (owner of the Goods).
Again I apologize for any miscommunication, but I can only Answer the question that I see. Had you been a bit more explicit from the beginning I would have known who said what they said and did what they did. If the individual who said that you were unprofessional was an employee of the importer, my Answer would be the same as my first Answer when it appeared as if the importer said you were uprofessional. If you want to sue the individual for defamation of character which emcompasses libel and Slander, you, as the Plaintiff would have to prove the following:
Slander is false spoken statements, while libel is false written statements. In order to recover damages in any lawsuit for slander, libel, and defamation of character, a Plaintiff must prove all four (4) elements. 1. First, the Plaintiff must prove that the defendant made a false and defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff.
2. Second, rhe Plaintiff must prove that the defendant made an unprivileged publication to a third party.
3. Third, the Plaintiff must prove that the publisher acted at least negligently in publishing the communication.
4. Finally, the Plaintiff must prove special damages. Damages are typically to the reputation of the plaintiff,By "publication" is meant that the false statement(s) are conveyed to a third party.
Examples of slanderous, libelous, and defamatory statements: A communication that imputes a serious crime involving moral turpitude or a felonyA communication that exposes a plaintiff to hatredA communication that reflects negatively on the plaintiff's character,morality, or integrittA communication that impairs the plaintiff's financial well-beingA communication that suggests that the plaintiff suffers from a physical or mental defect that would cause others to refrain from associating with the plaintiff
Experience: 25 yrs Employment Law, Real Estate & Business Law, Family Law, Criminal Defense, Immigration