Slander, Libel and You!

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,
But names will never hurt me…”

…at least that’s the lesson that we try to teach our children. In reality, name-calling will not only hurt your feelings, it can also damage your professional standing and do irreparable harm to your reputation. For the school administrator, defamatory comments can breed disrespect and ultimately affect your ability to manage effectively. By undermining your authority, such statements can make it very difficult to maintain control within the school environment.

In order to understand the legal impact of disparaging remarks, we first need to define exactly what constitutes libel, slander, defamation and harassment, and what remedy, if any, is available in law to prevent such actions.

The verb, to defame, means to attack the good reputation, or to speak ill of an individual. Therefore, any statement, whether written in the form of a letter, email or petition, or spoken, either falsely stated or directly implied, that injures an individual’s reputation or exposes him or her to public contempt is considered defamation of character.

When the defamation is verbal, it’s called slander.

When the defamatory statement is written, it’s considered libel.

Harassment is the repeated act of making libelous or slanderous statements with the goal of tormenting, irritating or otherwise attacking an individual, usually for the purpose of damaging that individual’s reputation.

Here are just a few examples of the situations where school administrators have required legal assistance:

A retiring staff member sends out an email to his teaching colleagues, listing the “Top 10” reasons why she disliked her former principal and vice-principal.
A school council member publicly accuses the principal of misappropriating school funds at a school council meeting.
A “Letter to the Editor” in the local newspaper demands the removal of an existing school principal, attributing erroneous facts and behaviour to the principal.

If you think that you may be a victim of libel or slander, or if you are being harassed, here’s a list of dos and don’ts:

Do's:

Contact your supervisory officer and/or school board.
Keep written records of all correspondence relating to the issue, including emails, petitions and letters.
Call the police if you feel that you are in immediate personal danger.
Take steps to address the behaviour. It may very well get worse if you ignore it.

Don'ts:

Ignore it.
Contact the offending party directly.
Reply directly to a “Letter to the Editor” or other public document in which you have been defamed.
Try to mediate the situation by addressing the matter at your school council meeting, in the school newsletter, or on your school’s website.
Respond in-kind to any accusations or slanderous statements.
Threaten, either verbally or in writing, the offending party.
Solicit personal support from parents and staff.

For more information about Professional Legal Expense Insurance for Principals & Vice-Principals (PLEI) or to find a broker in your province, click here.

© STERLON Underwriting Managers Ltd., 2006