There is an intern that I use to work with. We were both interns until I became employed by the company. A rumor started about the intern and someone said I said it, which I did not. The intern then text messaged me; "I dont need this job remember, you do." and then another one stating; "And people were tellin me that I should just slander you back but after it roles over, get you back." a couple of days after that, I walked into work one morning and my boss came to me and said that someone has reported that I am using illegal drugs and I was then escorted to the lab for the drug test. I was suspended from work for three days, awaiting the results. My drug test of course came back clean. I need to know what my rights are and if there is any obligation for the company to take action. So far HR states that the texts were not work related but clearly it is. Also the HR rep. goes out clubbing with this individual so I feel that my HR Rep. is not handling this the way it should due to the friendship she has with the person who is slandering me. Please help!

You can only sue for monetary damages - what are you monetary damages? Lost pay? You can sue for damage to your reputation if it is substantial but it appears that the drug test cleared you so there is no damage.

You also have to walk a narrow line here - do you have a Union, contract, something - or is it employment at will? In this economy I would make very few waves (unfortunately).