What is Slander?

Slander refers to spoken false statements that damage someone’s reputation, covered under the personal and advertising injury section of your general liability insurance.

What You Need to Know

Slander is the verbal version of defamation—when someone at your restaurant makes false spoken statements that harm another person’s or business’s reputation. This differs from libel, which involves written or published false statements.

Common examples include a manager verbally telling customers that a competing restaurant has rats, an employee spreading false rumors about why someone was fired, or staff making false accusations about suppliers or vendors. For your general liability insurance to cover slander claims, the statements must typically be made by you or your employees during the course of business operations.

Why It Matters for Restaurant Owners

In today’s environment where social media makes every conversation potentially “published,” the line between slander and libel is blurring—but both are covered under your general liability policy’s personal and advertising injury section. Slander lawsuits can cost $50,000 to $200,000+ in legal defense alone, even if you win.

Train all employees to never make negative statements about competitors, former employees, customers, or suppliers—even if they believe the statements are true. If employees must give references for former workers, provide only factual, documented information (dates of employment, position held) without subjective commentary.

Your insurance covers slander claims, but preventing them through employee training and clear communication policies is far better than defending lawsuits. Document your anti-defamation policies and training to demonstrate proactive risk management.