The Texas Supreme Court has rejected the theory of defamation by compelled self-publication.  Say what? you ask?  Compelled self-publication occurs most often in the employment context, where a terminated employee is compelled to inform subsequent potential employers why the employee was terminated from the employee’s last job.  As the theory goes, if an employer gives untrue defamatory reasons for terminating an employee, it should recognize that such conduct creates an unreasonable risk that the defamatory matter will be communicated to prospective employers.  By rejecting the theory, the Texas Supreme Court was concerned about creating an actionable tort any time an employee disagrees with the employer’s reason for firing the employee.   By refusing to recognize a tort based on compelled self-publication, the Texas Supreme Court reemphasized Texas’s long-standing tradition of employment at-will.

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