Defamation may not automatically come to mind when we think of employment litigation. However, claims for defamation and wrongful termination may go hand in hand more often than not.
Defamation is comprised of the torts of libel (written defamation) and slander (oral defamation). Although it has ancient roots—see Rodney A. Smolla’s Law of Defamation § 1:2 (noting that “centuries ago the remedy for defamation was to cut out the offender’s tongue”)—the tort of defamation is very much alive today (minus the tongue extractions), including in the workplace.
