What is the PA state law on slander?

[chadburne48]

A friend of mine was fired from a job for stealing money. The boss sent out a company-wide email detailing the offense and told my friend that charges has been filed. My friend was never notified about any pending charges. This friend has since paid back what was taken but the company is insisting that more money is owed. I do not condone what this friend did (of course there is more to the story) but the former employer is preventing my friend from getting another job by telling everyone in the industry about what allegedly happened and inflating the story to be much worse than it was. How is this friend supposed to come up with any more money without a job? Nothing was ever proven and my friend has made a good faith effort to repay the debt. Is there anything my friend can do about this situation? Is there any room to negotiate with the former employer? I feel like the employer is slandering my friend without all the facts. If no charges were ever filed is the former employer in the wrong? They keep trying to get more money out of my friend and while I know what my friend did was wrong, I feel what the former employer is doing is wrong as well.

[tripp]

In Pennsylvania, a private figure plaintiff bringing a defamation lawsuit must prove that the defendant was at least negligent with respect to the truth or falsity of the allegedly defamatory statements.

Public officials, all-purpose public figures, and limited-purpose public figures must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice, i.e., knowing that the statements were false or recklessly disregarding their falsity.

So...if your friend "paid back what was taken from the company" they in fact stole from the company and there's no defamation.

[gillian59]

It is not slander to state true facts, or fact which one has a reasonable right to assume ARE true.

Your friend has admitted guilt (innocents do not pay restitution), so the statements the company is making are true. It is perfectly legal for the ex employer to tell prospective employers anything true.

[kalvin71]

It's not slander if it's true. The fact that your friend is paying back the money to the company would be a pretty good defense for the company regardless of whether or not she's been formally charged.

If nothing was ever proven, as you allege, then why would she be paying them back? That's a lame argument and a lame way to try and frame the issue. She did it and her actions demonstrate that she's not disputing that she did.