Misrepresentation About Ex-Employees May Be Criminal Libel
Misrepresentation About Ex-Employees May Be Criminal Libel Eugene Volokh | 7.27.2026 9:53 AM Cal. June 24, 2026)—a civil case—concluded that this covers any employees as agents, and can cover publishing material on YouTube, on the theory that "members of the public" who can view the material "would also include prospective employers." (Cal. Labor Code § 1054 makes § 1050 violations civilly actionable as well as criminally punishable.) The fact pattern was that Mark Mead, a school district director of school safety, alleged that Carey, a journalism teacher, manipulated video of Mead to purport to show that he was choking a student.
- ▪Misrepresentation About Ex-Employees May Be Criminal Libel Eugene Volokh | 7.27.2026 9:53 AM Cal.
- ▪June 24, 2026)—a civil case—concluded that this covers any employees as agents, and can cover publishing material on YouTube, on the theory that "members of the public" who can view the material "would also include prospective employers." (
- ▪Labor Code § 1054 makes § 1050 violations civilly actionable as well as criminally punishable.) The fact pattern was that Mark Mead, a school district director of school safety, alleged that Carey, a journalism teacher, manipulated video of
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| Original publisher | Reason Magazine |
| Canonical URL | https://reason.com/volokh/2026/07/27/misrepresentation-about-ex-employees-may-be-criminal-libel/ |
| Publication time | Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:53:32 +0000 |
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Misrepresentation About Ex-Employees May Be Criminal Libel Eugene Volokh | 7.27.2026 9:53 AM Cal. Labor Code § 1050 provides, Any person, or agent or officer thereof, who, after having discharged an employee from the service of such person or after an employee has voluntarily left such service, by any misrepresentation prevents or attempts to prevent the former employee from obtaining employment, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Mead v. Bev. Hills Unif. School Dist. (Cal. Super. Ct. June 24, 2026)—a civil case—concluded that this covers any employees as agents, and can cover publishing material on YouTube, on the theory that "members of the public" who can view the material "would also include prospective employers." (Cal.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Reason Magazine.
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