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If an employee is terminated by a supervisor who told higher management false statements and made false reports against the employee that lead to his termination. And the terminated employee produced documentation that proves the supervisor's allegations were false. Is it possible for the terminated employee to sue the supervisor for Slander, Defamation of Character, and damages?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Oklahoma Already Tried: nothing
Employment in OK is considered at will (absent a written contract to the contrary) which means that the employer can terminate the employee for no reason at all or any reason not based solely on the employee's age/race/sex/disability and the employee' sole recourse is filing for unemployment. If you were terminated based on known false statements, then this is 1) grounds to overcome any objection to collection of unemployment and 2) grounds to sue the party personally for making the known false statements since you suffered a loss as a direct result of those false statements.
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Experience: Licensed Attorney. Over 20 years experience in personal injury and law enforcement.
I was terminated from the department of the air force civilian employee division. Does the Oklahoma at will employee act count in this case since I was a federal employee?
and what type of attorney would handle this type of case emloyment, or personal injury?
No, that is a different story. You would have a right then not only to sue the party who made the statement, but you also have to file an appeal of your termination through the employer's appeals process, since the government employer can only terminate you with good cause and a false statement is not good cause. An employment law attorney would handle the appeal for you and a personal injury attorney would handle the suit for defamation against the supervisor.
I am in the process of possibly bringing a case against the agency that terminated me. An official investigation has began. My question is, If I was terminated by a government agency and filed a discrimination claim against that agency and another branch at a different location of the same agency offered me employment does that create a conflict of interest? Can I still work for the same agency I am bringing a case against?
No, there is no conflict of interest in filing a complaint of discrimination against someone who is also employing you currently and they cannot discriminate against you or refuse to hire you just because you filed such a complaint, that would be considered unlawful retaliation.
Hello again, we communicated before I was terminated from government employment
and still on probation. I have received all my time tickets from the days I was employed. There are no entries that show unexcused tardiness or unscheduled leave. All of the week’s show every day as worked or paid for eight hours. The time sheets that show the days I used leave were signed by my supervisor and me in the comments section of all these time sheets there are no entries of unscheduled leave or problems with attendance. However the higher ranking supervisors who terminated me have written statements that I was habitually late coming to work and returning from lunch and was seen taking a two and a half hour lunch. These events never happened and I never was asked by any of my supervisors of these alleged events. There are no documents of any type of warnings given to me. These same supervisors who told these false statements tried to deny me my unemployment benefits by saying to the unemployment commission that I took leave time that I did not have accrued and that I was a bad employee, with a bad attitude and poor conduct. I replied to the commission by sending them my earning statements showing that I had accrued leave time with a remaining amount after the day I was terminated. I also sent certificates of appreciation and reference letters from high ranking supervisors from my last employer detailing the high level of professionalism I maintained during my employment with them.
With this information I was able to win my unemployment benefits. I presented all the facts to the eeoc on the Base and the Base commander requested an official investigation. I also have a recording of me and my first line supervisor discussing my termination and he is recorded saying that he was never told by his supervisors
about any issues regarding my attendance. And he did not understand why I was being terminated. He is also recorded saying he had no problems with allowing me to use my accrued leave and that his supervisors were out to get rid of me. In addition I requested time sheets of the other employees who I worked with and these time sheets do show tardiness and some employees used just as much leave time as I did and other employees used more. I am of Spanish origin while the other employees are Caucasian including the supervisors who fired me. In your opinion do I have a case worth pursuing?
You do have at the least a prima facie case of potential discrimination based on your national origin, combined with the fact that the employer is using false information as the reason for your termination and this is certainly enough to pursue your claim. Under McDonnell Douglas v. Green, the US Supreme Court held that once the employee makes a prima facie case of discrimination, if the employer cannot come up with a legitimate business reason for the termination, then the employee can prove a case of discrimination if they were treated differently than other employees not in a protected class. Thus, you should file this case to the EEOC with the evidence you have and it appears based on your evidence you have a strong case to pursue.