Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

My wife has been accused of stealing from her place of business. She was presented with a folder that she was not able to look at and told they knew she took jewelery and merchandice valued at over $3000. She did not do this, but was so intimidated that she confessed to taking a few other things (which I witnessed her call the manager and explain was accidental and was returned the next day). The company has suspended her based on this confession and is threatening to fire her and would then have the right to disclose to future employers that she was fired for theft. To me this reeks of coercion, does she have any leagal standing here?


Asked on 5/03/12, 10:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

As far as her job retention, employment of this kind is said to be "at will", which means that an employee can be discharged for almost any reason other than civil rights violations. In terms of dissemination information about her to prospective employers, if the company were to knowingly misrepresent what happened, your wife might have a claim for defamation, but they would probably take care to stick to the facts to avoid such legal problems.

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Answered on 5/03/12, 1:17 pm


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