When brave employees stand up against employment, harassment, or retaliation, they often expect the employer to deny the claims. But increasingly, we’re seeing a disturbing trend: employers filing defamation counterclaims designed not to win, but to punish the employee for speaking out.
Fortunately, starting April 9, 2025, Ohio will have a powerful new tool to stop that: the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA) – Ohio’s first real anti-SLAPP law.
What Is A SLAPP Lawsuit?
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. These lawsuits are usually filed by powerful parties—not necessarily to win on the legal merits, but to intimidate, silence, or exhaust critics who have exercised their constitutional rights (like freedom of speech or the right to petition the government).
In the employment law context, we most often see these in the form of:
- Defamation counterclaims by employers after an employee files a charge of, wrongful termination lawsuit, or speaks to the media;
- Lawsuits based on social media posts, online reviews, or internal complaints made by whistleblowers or harassment victims.
What Does The New Law Do?
Ohio’s UPEPA provides employees a way to shut down retaliatory lawsuits early. Starting April 9, 2025, if an employee is sued—or countersued—for things like:
Filing a race/color, gender, or national origin lawsuit,
- Talking to a government agency, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) or participating in an investigation regarding gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or age
- Making statements on matters of public concern (e.g., workplace safety, civil rights, public corruption, or overtime wage theft),
they can file a motion to dismiss under the anti-SLAPP law.
What Are The Key Protections?
Key Protections under the anti-SLAPP laws include:
- Fast-track dismissal of the defamation lawsuit.
- Automatic stay of discovery, saving the employee from burdensome and invasive litigation while the motion is pending.
- Mandatory attorney’s fees for the employee if they win the motion.
- Burden shift to the employer to prove that their claim isn’t just retaliation dressed up as defamation.
How Does This Affects Defamation Counterclaims Against Employees?
Let’s say an employee files a complaint with the EEOC alleging racial harassment and discrimination or pregnancy discrimination. The employer denies everything—but instead of stopping there, they sue the employee for defamation, claiming that the allegations “hurt their reputation.”
Under the old system, the employee might have to defend the counterclaim for months or even years, incurring huge legal fees and being forced through discovery.
But under the new law? The employee can immediately file an anti-SLAPP motion. If the court finds the lawsuit is based on the employee’s protected expression, it gets thrown out early. The employer has to pay the employee’s legal fees for having filed the retaliatory claim.
This is a game-changer for workers who are often silenced by fear of being sued simply for telling the truth about or harassment.
Can It Be Used In Your Case?
The law goes into effect on April 9, 2025, and will clearly apply to any new lawsuits or counterclaims filed after that date. Whether it applies to cases already pending is less clear—but if you’ve been hit with a retaliatory counterclaim, you should talk to a qualified employment attorney to see if the anti-SLAPP protections can help you now.
What Should Employees Do?
If you’re an employee thinking about speaking out, or if you’ve already taken action and are now facing threats of a lawsuit or a defamation counterclaim:
- Don’t back down – truth is a defense, and now Ohio law protects your right to speak out.
- Document everything, including retaliation or threats of legal action.
- Get legal advice from an employment law firm that knows how to use this new law to protect you.
At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, we’ve seen every tactic in the book used to silence employees—and now, we have a new tool to fight back. If your employer is suing you or threatening to sue because you dared to speak the truth, call us today.
Employment Lawyer Disclaimer: This blog is intended to provide general information about employment law and Ohio’s new anti-SLAPP statute. It is not legal advice. Every case is different, and you should consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. This blog is a legal advertisement. Keywords: employment law, defamation, retaliation, SLAPP, employee rights attorney, workplace harassment, Ohio attorney.