Defamation claim against former employee leads to retaliation lawsuit

Picture the following scenario: You fire an employee for legitimate reasons. He responds by filing multiple complaints with governing bodies, including a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Displeased about his accusations, you seek retribution by filing a defamation lawsuit against him. You're safe, right? After all, he was no longer an employee when you sued him, so he surely doesn't have a right to claim you retaliated against him based on your postemployment decisions.

Unfortunately, that isn't the case, and your actions against a former employee may come back to bite you. A Mississippi federal court addressed such a scenario in a recent case. Read on for the details.

Facts

Dr. Azad Kabir worked as a hospitalist with Singing River Health System (SRHS) from October 1, 2017, until he was terminated in July 2018. During his employment, he complained to his superiors on multiple occasions about allegedly discriminatory scheduling practices.

After Kabir was terminated, he submitted a civil rights complaint against SRHS to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC, and submitted complaints to the Office of Quality and Patient Safety and the Office of the Inspector General. In response, SRHS filed a lawsuit alleging his complaints constituted defamation. Kabir filed a second discrimination charge with the EEOC on April 2, 2019.