ForumsHome

I had to fire one of my employees about two months ago. I own a small company (2 employees) that does pharmaceutical research. The person I had to fire worked for me for 2 and a half years. The first two years she was an outstanding employee exceeding my expectations. She was treated well for her work, given multiple bonuses, full health insurance, and full reimbursement to pursue a masters degree. About 6 or 8 months ago her work performance started to decline. We let things slide initially due to her past performance, however about 2 months ago I had to let her go. She had made numerous careless mistakes but there were several mistakes that could have jeopardized my business. I thought I had heard the alst of it but today a client told me that my former employee is telling people that she left our office because we were being 'unethical.' In the business that we do the word unethical could get us shut down by the FDA or at least trigger an audit. Both are not a concern as there is nothing unethical that could be found. My concern is whom ever my ex employee is telling. She already has told a client (who could choose to no longer bring us business) and I have a strong suspicion that she has been on job interviews telling others the same information. Since we live in a small community this could have a huge impact on us long term. I am confident clients we have already will not be bothered by this information but I am worried that new clients will turn away. My lawyer has said I can sue her for slander, gross misconduct, and for @ $15,000 I spent sending her to school for work purposes. I know that she has very little money and at this point I don't expect to get a cent back. What I am wondering is if suing her will scare her enough to stop slandering my business or if it will only make things worse? Has anyone had experience in this situation with employees who clearly are seeking revenge for being fired?