I was working tonight at the restaurant where Ive worked for over a year when a security guard from my old job came in with her boyfriend. I had gotten arrested from there and fired for shoplifting a couple years back.She told the owner that I was making her uncomfortable when I was not doing anything and then proceeded to tell him my past and that I had gotten arrested for stealing. He freaked out on me saying I was giving her dirty looks and then told me to take the week off. Can I file a suit against her for defamation of character? There was no reason for her to do this to me. Someone please help.

It sounds like you might have a case but if everything she said is true you may or may not win.

If you work in an at will state then he can fire you for no reason.
With him finding out about your stealing from someone other than yourself he just might decide to fire you.

As far as I know, as long as the information being passed along is true, there's nothing you can do about it. Being arrested/charged/convicted is public knowledge anyway.

I would not want a past employee that I perhaps got fired serving my food, I would have asked for another staff member myself.

And telling them the truth about you being fired is not illegal at all.

Sorry see no case what so ever

Truth is a defense. Here's something I wrote:

Briefly - Generally in law libel refers to permanent/written statements and slander refers to non-permanent/spoken statements. Defamation (of character) covers both categories.

"You must be damaged - and prove damages - in order to recover. The statements (either written or spoken) must be false but presented as though they were true and be beyond offensive, derogatory or insulting. Such statement must rise to a level which actually harms a person's reputation. In general the person making the statement must either know it isn't true or make the statement without attempting to verify if it is true.

The defense to defamation is that the information was not presented as the truth (which covers gossip), that the information was never secret (privileged) and was always public."

That is an excellent statement, Judy.

Or in other words, "if it is true, even if you dont like it, its not libel/slander/defamation"

First, can you tell us your age please.

You got fired for something that you obviously admit.

Do you hold some resentment towards this person? Was she instrumental in your severance? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you may have been glaring/staring, with hate in your eyes, and not realize it. In that case, she probably was uncomfortable. Something else must be going on for your boss to send you home, for a WEEK. He put himself short on help, for a reason. What she said was privy to him, being it was public record.
Personally, if saw someone who I helped arrest, in a restaurant, I would leave in fear of being fed glass or something.

If this incident results in actual damages such as you losing your job or taking a substantial cut in hours/wages then you may have a case against her. Also I'd try mending fences with your boss, particularly if you've been a good employee despite your past.

Good point. In cases like these we always have to wonder if there's something more going on.

But even if they got fired from it, if there was nothing untrue, there still is no law suit.

I regually call a manager over and complain about poor service, wrong orders and more, and I am sure I have caused people to lose their jobs.

I have even had places I have taken my business from because of someone they hired.

But that's perfectly legitimate ; if you complain about poor service, then obviously someone isn't doing his/her job properly, so if they lose the job as a result, that certainly doesn't present a potential slander/wrongful termination suit. And that's your prerogative in a free market, free enterprise system. Obviously the management saw fit to hire the employee in question even though you didn't see fit to do business with that same employee. And if the management valued the employee in question sufficiently to hire him/her in the first place, then I doubt that they're going to fret much over a little bit of lost patronage as a result. What I find questionable in this whole scenario (provided the OP is giving us all the facts, which, granted may not be the case) is that a former fellow employee from "a couple years back" comes into his/her place of business where (s)he's worked for "over a year", complains to the manager over something vague and global like "looking at me funny" and then spills all the "dirt" about OP's employment with the company in question, which is, as already mentioned, a "couple" of years old and then the manager unequivocally seems to buy into it and lays off the OP for a week, presumably without pay. Now actually, when push comes to shove, maybe the OP really can't make a case against the security guard or the company if in fact this person spoke "truthfully" to the manager about OP and maybe this is best left to the discussion board. Now I can't speak for all managers but if I had an employee working for me for "over a year" and was a reliable employee and didn't cause any problems (and that's usually true for any employee who manages to last for a year or longer) and then a customer (who's obviously not even a regular customer at that) comes in and badmouths this employee to me, I certainly wouldn't just lay him/her off for a week and leave myself shorthanded. If in fact the employee actually mistreated the customer in question (beyond just a "dirty" look) I'd give him/her a lecture and a stern warning that next time such an incident occurred the consequence would be a week off without pay. But I certainly wouldn't punish myself by leaving myself shorthanded and depriving myself of someone with over a year's experience, only to have to train someone brand new to do the job and far less efficiently at that or pay overtime to my other employees, as well as pay unemployment benefits to the worker I just canned for (at least) a week. Not to mention fears that, just as the OP is suggesting, opening myself up to potential legal repercussions. Even if exonerated in the end, the time and expenses spent to defend against a lawsuit if it came down to that just isn't cost efficient.

I don't see any legal advice here - what do you suggest that the OP do?

As far as discussing what YOU would do, as an employer, that is what any reasonable employer would do - but that's not the case here and that's not what the OP asked.

If I was applying for a job in which I would be in contact with the public, that public possibly being a person who knows truthful "dirt" on me, I would certainly be upfront with the employer BEFORE anything lik this happened! Upon thinking about it further, I'd think that on the job app there would be questions regarding work history (Were you fired, and WHY)... so answer the questions truthfully. If you make a mistake, own up to it! Yes, it may cost you a job, but if you are willing to discuss (truthfully) the circumstances, perhaps the future employer might be lenient and understanding. It's ALWAYS better to tell the truth. I simply can't believe that no one ever asked about your previous work history, and if they did, I can see through your post that you must've lied. The whole reason these questons are asked is because they want to hire quality people who can be counted on, and maybe you didn't fit that description, especially about this. Next job you apply for, be forthright and honest. It'll get you further. Maybe not every time, but one of these times, it sure will.

The thing about employers is, they like people who are reliable, pleasant to customres demands and especially won't swear or lie or quit at the drop of a hat! If you owned a business would you want someone argueing with acustomer and ruining their chances of having a repeat customer not to mention losing all that money? No matter how demanding a customer is, it always oays to serve them well, whether they tip or not. Their tip might be in the form of a good report about your service. That's the best tip you can get ultimately.

And yes, I know, I am a bartender!