BY: LISA R. WILSON

Let’s face it: coworkers don’t always get along. There have been times in all of our lives when toes get stepped on at work, feelings get hurt or enraged, and we have felt the need to verbally thrash a coworker to another. Talking smack about your office mates is all too common—but when gossip crosses the line, it may be considered defamation, and is against the law. Legally speaking, defamation is false information which injures another person. The false statement can be spoken, written or even communicated through email. Defamation exposes the victim to ridicule and shame, and can cause damage to that person’s reputation or occupation—even causing that person to lose their job.

Proving defamation can be tricky, however, as not all statements are defamatory. For instance, an opinion made about someone, even if it’s negative, does not constitute defamation. In order to prove defamation, it must be shown that the defamer knew the information they were spreading was false, but still claimed it as fact. For example, if you tell a coworker that another coworker is lazy, that statement is opinion-based and doesn’t hold much weight. On the other hand, if you claim that a coworker has been stealing from the company, that is a statement that sounds like a fact and could get you, and that coworker, into a heap of trouble. Therefore, this can be considered defamation (only, of course, if it’s not true.)

So the general rule of thumb for workplace gossip goes back to the old adage, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Not only can you cause irreparable damage to another, which is simply immature and uncool, you could get hit with some hefty legal penalties of your own—including fines and your own loss of employment. And no matter how you feel about your job or the coworker you are bashing, that is an awfully high price to pay.

For more information about defamation, contact a Lead Counsel Labor and Employment attorney in your area today.