Eyana J. Smith featured in Hospitality Law
“Worker fired for policy violation, not false theft accusations”

Washington, DC-based Labor and Employment Associate Eyana Smith provided the commentary detailing the implications of Lopez v. Hyatt Corp., a decision from the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued on April 25, 2007, for Hospitality Law. The decision found that an employee failed to prove that he was terminated from his position based on false accusations that he stole from the company rather than the hotel’s explanation that he was terminated for failing to follow company policies.

“The Lopez decision reinforces the strength of the at-will doctrine for hospitality employers and highlights the interplay between defamation and wrongful termination claims,” Eyana writes. Eyana warns employers in the hospitality industry, however, that, “[t]here is a word of caution to employers in this case. In the event that a discrimination suit is brought by the employee, an employee could use ‘bad cause’ discharge decisions as proof of pretext for discrimination.” Additionally, “[a]nother interesting lesson learned from Lopez is that the burden of proof is on the employee to prove that the employer made the defamatory statement to third parties… An employee must directly show that the employer publicized the defamatory statement to a third party.” For these reasons, Eyana recommends that “an employer conduct a thorough and well-documented investigation of the accused conduct before rendering discipline” and that “hotel employers should take precautionary measures to ensure confidentiality during personnel investigations” to guard against such defamation claims.