Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New Hampshire

Re: Slander by previous employer

Yes, it would be slander if someone said something untrue about you for the purpose of causing you harm or holding you up for public ridicule. However, the difficulty may be proving exactly what was said and proving it to be untrue. For example, former employer reports often do not say precisely that a former employee "did" something, but rather that they had a "problem" concerning some topic (which may be literally true). For example, they do not say "Mr. X stole from us", but rather "While Mr. X was here we had a problem with inventory being stolen." The effect on you may be the same, but they can avoid liability for slander. On the other hand, if individuals are going about saying untrue things about you, not in response to a potential employer's question but by initiating contact themselves, they may be more susceptible to suit. But you will still need to prove exactly what was said, that it is untrue, and that you were harmed by it.