Libel? Slander? Both?

[jnb756]

Hi,

I quit a job recently as the employer did not pay a fair wage and did nothing to compensate for the time I spent working for him.

As I went to the location I worked for I went inside (I had the key as I was the "manager")
took my personal belongings and left any items that belonged to the store - including the key and parking pass - locked up and left. ( I slid the key through the mail slot after locking the door)

It was obvious that I had quit as the key and the parking pass were left behind. This was the e-mail that was sent to me and apparently everyone that worked for this person:


As you did not show up again or call today, we will assume that you
have quit - the locks are changed and the alarm code is new.

I know that you were in the shop on Wednesday night or Thursday - I
left the lights off...

Things you need to be aware of - the missing money from the "make
change" cup including the $20 bill I left in there on Wednesday, the
missing donated laptops, and any other missing inventory discovered
will be reported to the police on Monday if they are not returned to
the Tempe store by Monday 11AM.

I can only guess that a drug problem would lead to such dramatically
ridiculous behavior - I hope you get help, but you best not run into
me anytime soon. Congratulations, you flushed the opportunity of your
life right down the toilet.

***BEFORE ANYONE ELSE GOES IN THE PHOENIX STORE YOU WILL NEED TO GET A
NEW KEY AND ALARM CODE FROM ME***


My question is, can this person be held responsible for libel since my reputation is now one of someone that has a drug problem? And the threat of "best not run into me anytime soon" what of that? Should I call the police? Accusations of theft, drug use and dramatically ridiculous behavior, what are my options.

Thank you for any help!

 

[Duranie]

In order to prove libel, you have to prove you have been financially harmed by the email. Since it was not sent to anyone outside of the company and you no longer work for them, it is hard to prove libel, unless that email gets sent to potential employers or somebody else in the public.

You can let him know that unless he can prove his allegations and files a police report, he is to refrain from calling you a drug user and a thief, and you will be keeping a copy of this email.

"Best not run into my anytime soon" is hard to consider a direct threat unless he tells you "I am going to kick your butt" or something. He needs to be specific with his threats in order for them to be considered a threat.

I am in AZ, I am curious what company is this? Also if you were not paid wages and if you feel you are owed money, you can call the dept. of labor. You need to have proof you were hired at a certain hourly or salaried wage and then not paid. If it was comm. only, then you might have a tougher time.

 

[jnb756]

Thank you!

Thank you for your reply! I did talk to a lawyer that I met while working at the company (irony at its best) and they are researching this information for me as well. The e-mail may have been sent only to company personel (and also may have been sent elsewhere) but there is no in house e-mail server and most employees including myself use gmail for correspondence.

The allegations are false, and running into this business owner would be my pleasure as if he decided to act upon his thinly veiled threat I would defend myself quite aptly (7 years martial arts training, belt not important as I am not intending to brag, simply adding background information).

However, since there was never any inventory of the items in the store, he could make up anything he wants and after being on the *in* with him for a few short weeks do not find it outside of his character to do so.

Due to the nature of everything going on I don't think it wise to publicly display the company name however if you would provide some way of contacting you directly we could discuss this further.

Thank you again for your help!

 

[Duranie]

I was just curious of the name. Anyways i would not worry about this guys threats or accusations. If the items are in fact missing let him file a police report and go from there.