Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Can Sometimes Hurt You: Damages For Defamation May Attach To Termination Communications

In Booton v Synergy Plumbing and Heating Ltd., 2019 BCSC 276, an employee successfully sued his former employer for wrongful dismissal as well as defamation in relation to statements made by the employer regarding the reasons for his termination. Booton is a cautionary tale reminding employers to carefully consider how communications about the departure of an employee are worded.

Facts

Mr. Booton was a service manager at Synergy. Synergy had a "Side Jobs and Conflict of Interest" policy prohibiting employees from using company resources to perform side jobs without authorization. The policy stated that such work would be considered a conflict of interest and that non-compliance could result in termination of employment.

It was unclear whether Mr. Booton was aware of the company's policies, as his offer of employment did not reference them and there was no evidence he was ever told about the policies. He used company resources to engage in side jobs on a number of occasions and was paid personally for that work. Synergy was aware of at least one such side job - however, there was no evidence that Mr. Booton was warned about or disciplined for it, or that the policy was then brought to his attention.

Ultimately, due to a client refusing to pay its outstanding account with Synergy on the basis that it had paid Mr. Booton instead, Synergy dismissed Mr. Booton for cause for breach of the policy. After Mr. Booton was terminated, the director of Synergy communicated with various employees regarding the reasons for his departure. Among the statements made were that Mr. Booton had been let go because of a conflict of interest, that he had stolen money from the company, that he had done a side job for a customer and the money had not gone to the company, and that he had committed a breach of trust. Mr. Booton subsequently filed a claim for wrongful dismissal, as well as defamation, against Synergy.

Decision

The Court found that Mr. Booton was not aware of the policy, and that even if he had been, Synergy had not disciplined him or warned him that he was in breach despite knowledge of his actions. Furthermore, there was evidence that Synergy had not applied the policy consistently to other employees either. As a result, the Court found the termination to be wrongful, and awarded 6 months for reasonable notice (from which 1.5 months were deducted to account for lack of mitigation).

Additionally, the director's statements suggesting that Mr. Booton...