Oral Defamation and Perjury

I posted this one because there is someone who omitted this violation. Because a Lady accused somebody here (I will not tell the name). Her statements are 100% WRONG. She is making wrong stories also known as fase statement at our barangay. However, this man who is being accused defensed himself and charged that lady to this following violation: Defamation is an intentional false communication that injures another person’s good name or reputation. To amount to defamation, the communication must be published or spoken. Defamation law prohibits libel and slander. Libel is when the employee is defamed in writing, and slander is used for oral defamation. The employee may press charges of defamation when the ex-employer provides discriminatory job references to prospective employers, which may cause harm to the employee. In an employment setting, if the employee is wrongfully accused of misconduct, sexual harassment, dishonesty, negligence, etc., verbally or in writing, the employee has a valid reason to file charges of defamation against the employer or the accuser. In case the employer does not investigate the defamatory remark(s) fairly, both the employer and the accuser are held accountable. Defamatory statements are often made to outsiders, about the employee’s job performance or problems on the job. A third party is shown the employee’s personnel file and performance evaluations, but the file may have untrue derogatory comments or incorrect evaluation records. Most states recognize a valid defamation lawsuit when false written or spoken words are communicated to a third party and disparage a person of his trade, office, or profession, and when the employer or ex-employer negligently failed to check the accuracy of such information. Exceptions If the employer makes a mistake in providing a reference by looking at the wrong file, and later corrects the mistake, then the employee does not have the right to press charges of defamation. If the employer shares their opinion about the employee’s wrongful conduct to another person; an opinion cannot amount to defamation. If the employer disseminates defamatory but true information about the employee. Employers are also entitled to “qualified privilege” that allows them to make statements about their employees regarding discipline, termination, and references to prospective employers. However, it does not give employers the right to knowingly make false statements about employees or ex-employees. The employee must have enough proof to prove that a false statement was made. It is advisable to consult a labor attorney to analyze the situation. However, damages do not have to be proved in all instances. The law treats certain statements as defamatory per se; here the employee need not have to prove to win a verdict. Defamatory per se statements Accusing a person of serious misconduct in his/her profession. Imputing to a person the commission of a criminal offense. Charging a person with dishonesty. Accusing a person of serious sexual conduct. Stating that a person has a loathsome or deadly disease.

Source: http://www.mypersonnelfile.com/oer_defamation.php

___________________________________________________________

Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. It is important that the false statement be material to the case at hand—that it could affect the outcome of the case. It is not considered perjury, for example, to lie about ones age, unless that person's age is a key factor in proving the case. Perjury is considered a serious offense as it can be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice.

The rules for perjury also apply when a person has made a statement under penalty of perjury, even if the person has not been sworn or affirmed as a witness before an appropriate official.

Statements of interpretation of fact are not perjury because people often make inaccurate statements unwittingly and not deliberately. Individuals may have honest but mistaken beliefs about certain facts or their recollection may be inaccurate. Like most other crimes in the common law system, to be convicted of perjury one must have had the intention (mens rea) to commit the act, and to have actually committed the act (actus reus).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perjury