Damages for Injury to Reputation

There are two possible damage awards that may be made for injury to a person's reputation in the course of terminating the individual's employment. In some cases, courts have awarded damages for loss of reputation in wrongful dismissal actions. In very rare cases, courts have awarded damages for libel and slander, or what is commonly referred to as damages for defamation, in a wrongful dismissal action.

The only recognized legal basis on which to award any damages for injury to reputation would be for loss of an opportunity to enhance one's reputation, which are limited to people such as actors and artists, where a very real benefit of their employment includes the opportunity to enhance their reputation and popularity within their profession.

In only the most extraordinary situations will a wrongfully terminated employee have a valid claim for damages for defamation. Generally speaking, a written or verbal statement is defamatory if it harms the reputation of a person so as to lower him/her in the estimation of the community.

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