National Chamber Litigation Center Urges Virginia Supreme Court to Overturn Employment Evaluation Defamation Claim

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC) yesterday asked the Virginia Supreme Court to overturn a $1.85 million jury verdict against Raytheon for defamation stemming from an employee performance evaluation.

"Courts have widely recognized that internal employee evaluations should not subject employers to defamation claims," said NCLC Senior Vice President Robin Conrad. "This very court has set precedent by disallowing these types of defamation claims."

In Raytheon v. Hyland, a former employee sued the company alleging that comments made in her performance evaluation were defamatory. A Fairfax County, Virginia jury found in favor of the employee. In its brief, NCLC argues that unless the Virginia Supreme Court vacates the lower court's judgment, the holding will have a chilling effect on the operation of all businesses in the state and elsewhere.

"If this ruling stands, employers will be deterred from providing meaningful employee performance input for fear of being sued," Conrad stated. "As a result, employees will suffer from being unable to receive the management feedback necessary for improved job performance."

NCLC, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is a membership organization that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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