AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I have been a practicing civil trial attorney since 1989 and have a master's degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy in comparative ethics of law, medicine and business.
I am Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and am Certified as a Specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation by the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization.
Experience Experience in the area I have been a practicing trial attorney since 1989 and I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics.
Organizations belong to State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice
Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
Question I work for a company that deals with the mentally and physically
handicapped. If a director of this company continually lies about a situation,
even though you have proof it never happened and she finally gets after you
so much that it is obviously personal and she pushes you to quit because
working conditions with her have become impossible. She then continues to
tell this lie and calls people we have worked with to tell them that I can not
come around their relatives. I have been told that I cannot talk to any staff or
clients that I have worked with and become friends with outside of job hours.
Answer Faun,
There is really no question here. From the facts, there is no way to determine if there is defamation. Defamation is: 1) a false statement; 2) which the maker knows to be false; 3) published to a third party; 4) with the intent to lessen the reputation; 5) which does lessen the reputation; and 6) causes damages.
In right-to-work states, a boss can make the work environment horrible as long as it is equally horrible for everyone. The employer cannot discriminate against an employee who is part of a protected class because of that protection, such as age, gender, race, etc.
There are patient confidences when one works with the physically or mentally infirmed. A breach of that confidence can lead to a HIPAA violation or a private cause of action. Of course, most jurisdictions would not allow an employer to dictate that an employee cannot maintain a friendship with a former patient or employee.
I hope this is helpful. If you would like to be more specific, I may be able to answer your question.
