Regardless of what you think of lawyers on a personal level, you’ve got to admit: They’re a clever bunch. When they see a legal tactic that works, they ride it until the wheels fall off. 

The new lawsuit du jour workers are slapping employers with: defamation.

The Recorder, a news outlet for tech-focused legal professionals, spoke to employment lawyers in the Silicon Valley area and found that plaintiffs are starting to frequently add defamation claims to their wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuits against employers.

Example: L. Julias Turman, a partner at the firm Smith Reed LLP, told The Recorder that at least 60% of his wrongful termination and harassment cases include defamation claims.

And here’s the kicker: Turman said defamation claims are being tacked on to lawsuits whether they’re appropriate or not.

Reason: They give plaintiffs another avenue for — and increase their chances of — recovering money.

Defamation defined

According to The Recorder’s report, the defamation claims being filed against employers involve an ex-employees accusing their bosses — i.e., management — of providing false reasons for firing them.

In other words, terminated employees are trying to recover money for what they claim are statements or accusations made by their former employers that hurt their names — or personal brands — to the point that it would be difficult for them to find future employment.

An example of how a defamation claim could easily be tacked on to a harassment or discrimination lawsuit: Say a worker is claiming that he was fired for discriminatory reasons because he’s African American. And say the employer has stated that its reasoning for terminating him is because he was constantly late for work.

The worker can tack a defamation claim onto his discrimination lawsuit by alleging that the statements about his punctuality were false and were actually used as a pretext for firing him.

The attorneys interviewed by The Recorder said that this was always a course of action plaintiffs could take, but there’s a heavier focus on it now.

And that’s because it’s working. In a recent case highlighted by The Recorder, a worker terminated by Kemper Independence Insurance Co. had his wrongful termination and retaliation claims thrown out of court, but the man still managed to win a five-plus million dollar judgement because of his defamation claims.

That’s the type of result that makes attorneys stand up, take notice and find ways to tack defamation on to future suits.

The defense for employers

The good news: Employers aren’t powerless to defeat these claims — as long as they’ve got their documentation in order.

One attorney, Christopher Whelan, of Christopher H. Whelan Inc., whom The Recorder said has been described as “a guru in the field” of defamation, said proving a defamation claim isn’t easy for plaintiffs.

All an employer has to do, according to Whelan, to defeat one is prove that the alleged defamatory statement is true.

In other words, if you say a worker was chronically late, all you’d need are time and attendance records to back up that statement.

Taking things one step further, this means that you need ask yourself if you can back up, with hard evidence, that what you’re about to say about an employee is true — especially when what you’re about to say could hurt the person’s future employment prospects.

Spread the word to your managers.

What’s scarier, these discrimination claims or the number of zeros in the award? 

California-based trucking outfit Matheson Trucking and Matheson Flight Extenders Inc. is paying dearly for racial discrimination claims levied against the company by seven former employees.

A lawsuit filed by the men — six of whom are black — claims Matheson let some pretty horrific stuff go on in its warehouse, according to a report by The Denver Post.

Some of the lawsuit’s claims, according to The Post:

• White workers called black workers “lazy stupid Africans.”
• White employees and black employees worked on separate sides of the warehouse.
• White supervisors and workers often used the N-word around black workers.
• In one instance, a white worker yelled that all blacks should be shot (and that worker was later promoted).
• Calling a white worker, the seventh plaintiff, who stood up for his black co-workers, “the tribe’s assistant.”
• That same white worker was fired after he challenged the company’s racist practices.
• Black workers were passed over for desirable, double-pay holiday shifts, which were given to white workers with less seniority.

The lawsuit went on to say that the plaintiffs were discriminated against in all phases of employment — including hiring, promotion, vacation pay, discipline, wages, benefits and much more.

A federal jury awarded them nearly $15 million, and here’s how that broke down, according to The Post:

• $14 million in punitive damages
• $650,000 in emotional distress, and
• $318,000 in back pay.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough for the employer, it’s likely on the hook for the plaintiff’s attorney fees, too.

Note to employers: Firing an employee because she filed a complaint with a federal agency is virtually guaranteed to come back and bite you.

June and Jay Tucker, officials of a corporation that operated a convenience store/gas station in Indiana, will pay $15,000 to a former employee to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC, the agency announced.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Bright Petroleum Inc. terminated Deli Manager Michelle Bunte in retaliation for filing a charge of discrimination with the agency.

The consent decree settling the suit states Bunte will be paid $15,000, and the company will be subject to penalties for late payments. The Tuckers will be prohibited from engaging in any further retaliation against employees who exercise their rights to complain about discrimination or assist in an investigation or discrimination-related proceeding for any businesses which the Tuckers own, operate or manage.

All references to Bunte’s charge and participation in the lawsuit will be removed from her personnel file and not shared with prospective employers of Bunte.

Bunte will also be given a signed letter of reference. The Tuckers will report to the EEOC for a three-year period, detailing their compliance with the decree.