Preschool teacher loses appeal on defamation claims

In an opinion issued in May 2020, the Tennessee Court of Appeals provided guidance regarding the application of the common interest privilege and its impact on defamation and invasion of privacy claims within the employment setting. The practical impact of this guidance may provide some degree of protection for employers in their discussions and communications about their employees.

Facts

Kelly McGuffey was a former preschool teacher at Belmont Weekday School (BWS). She was terminated from her employment at BWS in February 2015 after a child in her class was left behind in the bathroom during a fire drill. The incident resulted in a “supervision violation”—a violation of the Tennessee Department of Human Services law governing preschools and the requirements for proper supervision of the students.

Previously, in 2011, McGuffey had received a first write-up for another incident resulting in a supervision violation. At that time, BWS wrote up all six teachers, including McGuffey, with students on the playground where the supervision violation occurred. Because the 2015 fire drill incident was her second disciplinary action related to a supervision violation, her employment was terminated. Her co-teacher, who didn’t have any prior write-ups, was disciplined for the fire drill incident but not terminated.