Could I sue a former employer if they spread rumours privately?

Legal General Legal Matters
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I’ve been looking up the defamation laws (Criminal Code of the ROC, Part 2, Chapter 27 I believe) just in case something bad comes to pass. I’m hoping this isn’t the case, but best to be prepared.

If a former employer were to harm my future employment opportunities in the industry by spreading false information to colleagues in the industry, would there be a case to be made against them? The code in question refers specifically to making false statements “in public”, but I’m not entirely sure how this would be defined in Taiwan. Or should I be looking at a different aspect of the law altogether?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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My understanding is that the fine is only a 15,000ntd fine or 1 year in prison

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Assuming OP prevails, what about the loss of face from losing the case and the lies being made public? (Can a public apology be part of the outcome?) :thinking:

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Thanks for that, but my main question still stands regarding the requirement that the false claim be made “in public”. Would that apply in this case?

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To be honest, all I’m looking for here is confirmation that it would be possible. I’m hoping to use that knowledge to prevent it from ever coming to that. Basically just letting people know that I’m aware of the relevant laws.

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Attorneys will always confirm you can sue. Winning your case is another matter

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If I had time for that right now, it would be great! If it comes down to anything happening then I’ll definitely get one, but right now this is just a search for info. That’s why this forum is here after all…

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Criminal penalty isn’t much but a civil suit would be far more than the criminal penalty. Id go for a civil suit.

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Public as in you need proof that it happened, a private conversation between two people would be hard to prove without some sort of evidence. Even if a third person overheard it, it would still be their word against the other person.

But as always you would have to get legal advice depending on the situation.

Also consider that by threatening to sue someone before an event could be seen as a threat, or you implying that they are of questionable character, if you did that in public they could sue you.

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That’s my bad for phrasing the title wrong and being unclear about my intent. Apologies for the confusion. I don’t mean that I’m going to threaten to sue them. It’s just that in case things go south I want them to be aware that I am aware of my rights under the law (which means actually finding out what my rights are!)

What you said about private conversation is what I was looking for. I will definitely get legal advice first if anything happens, just trying to figure out the lay of the land beforehand. Thanks for the response.

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I know of good people that lost jobs they were otherwise going to get because of privately spoken rumors. I am afraid there is little way to prevent this from happening.

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Here is what my lawyer said. This post is not legal advice though.

It is largely unenforceable unless you have a record and it was told to more than two people.

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Not always true. Attorneys worth their salt will decline to take cases they are likely to lose as they want to preserve their successful track record so that clients can trust they will win. It’s a marketing strategy.

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In total, or in a single instance? :thinking:

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Total

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