Ohio Court of Appeals: No Rehire Recommendation is Protected Opinion, Not Defamation

Last week, the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of University Hospitals arising from, among other things, a no-hire recommendation placed in the plaintiff’s personnel file following her voluntary resignation. Byrne v. Univ. Hosps., 2011-Ohio-4110. The Court found the statement to be too vague to constitute a false statement of fact about the plaintiff’s job performance because it was based purely on her supervisor’s subjective overall opinion. Therefore, the plaintiff could not show that it was defamatory, and it was also protected opinion. The Court also found that it was not sufficiently publicized to place the plaintiff in a false light and that there could not be any tortious interference with contract when other departments and locations of the hospital relied on the no-hire recommendation when considering subsequent applications for employment.

According to the Court’s decision, the plaintiff had been promoted into a position for which she had not applied and which she was ultimately uncomfortable in performing. After two months, she requested and received a demotion back to a staff position. Shortly thereafter, she voluntarily resigned and obtained another job. In filling out the exit interview paperwork, her supervisor marked her personnel file as “not recommended for rehire” because the plaintiff had raised invalid complaints about her compensation, had not tried sufficiently to adopt new skills for her supervisory position before requesting a demotion two months after her promotion, and had taken off a significant amount of paid personal time after her promotion. None of these reasons were indicated anywhere in the personnel file.

After the plaintiff was subsequently rejected for three other positions at the hospital, she discovered the no-rehire recommendation and brought suit for defamation, false light and tortious interference with contract. The trial court granted the employer summary judgment on all three claims. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.