What is a Workplace Tort?
A Tort is a civil wrong caused when someone suffers harm – such as paying a fine or serving time for a crime they didn’t do – from an unfair cause or false accusation. By filing a Tort claim, the accuser can get the Tortfeasor to compensate him for the wrong they have committed on him There are several different types of Torts that relate to the workplace and are common claims on civil law courts: fraud, defamation, assault, and false imprisonment are the most common Workplace Tort Claims. When taken into civil court, a successful claim can allow the employee to recover money damages incurred as a result of the Tortfeasor’s actions.
FRAUD
Fraud entails that the employee suffered the consequences for taking a decision based on an information that the employer told him, knowing that it was false and with the intention to harm him. To press a fraud claim the employee has to prove that he suffered some kind of harm from such fraud, such a loosing money or getting fired. An example of fraud would be if an employer told an employee that he didn’t have to attend to a staff meeting when he knows that everybody in the company must be present in that meeting.
DEFAMATION
Defamation occurs when somebody in the workplace makes a false allegation of you to a third person with the intention of damaging your reputation. Defamation must not be confused with Qualified Privilege, which is the assessments and statements that a company makes about its workers’ competency in order to keep an efficient staff. For a statement to be defamatory it must be proved in court that it is done with the malicious intention of harming the employee.
ASSAULT AND BATTERY
Assault and battery refer to two distinct types of crimes. While battery refers to the act of physically harming somebody, assault refers to the attempt to commit battery. Both of these crimes can be taken either to civil or criminal courts, and if an employer knew that somebody in the workplace committed one of them and protected him, then he will have to compensate the victim if the claim is judged to be true.
FALSE IMPRISONMENT
False imprisonment occurs when an employer prevents an employee from leaving a place inside of the workplace without any legal justification. For example, if your boss left you locked inside of your office because he wants to force you to work overtime he would be acting without any legal authority or justification.To determine whether an action constitutes false imprisonment the circumstances under which it was done must be also taken into accounts.
If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has the answers. Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.
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