Can You Be Sued for a Glassdoor Review

aEmployer online review sites are condign a normal office of everyday business. While in that location are many employer review sites like Angie's Listing and Yelp, none are more popular or powerful than Glassdoor, which attracts north of 50 meg users per month.

Unfortunately, negative and fake reviews on Glassdoor can discourage potential employees (and job applicants) and lead to online defamation of a company or business possessor. Having a favorable profile on Glassdoor, on the other hand, is vital for employers to concenter the best caliber candidates.

At Minc Law, nosotros have worked with countless companies who demand guidance every bit to how to navigate the challenges that employers face with Glassdoor.

By and large, there are three ways to remove a negative or false Glassdoor review:

• Work with the original author to remove the review;
• Flag and written report the review to Glassdoor;
• Pursue legal action against the employee.

In this commodity, I volition review the best ways to remove negative Glassdoor reviews and provide actionable tips you lot tin implement. I will besides outline ways to prevent negative reviews before they even happen.

This article does not address how to respond to negative and imitation reviews on Glassdoor, as we mostly propose clients against doing and so in many situations. Oftentimes, responding to bad reviews (and fake reviews) makes the situation worse, and so pursuing a Glassdoor review removal should exist your first course of action and nosotros focus in on hither as the gilt standard of remedies.

How a Bad Glassdoor Review Can Make Or Break Your Company

To outset with, I cannot stress how important it is for businesses to immediately accost bad Glassdoor reviews when they happen. Online employer and company reviews have go the offset and most influential factors that employees research and wait to when determining whether to work for or engage with a visitor. In fact, nearly 83% of all job seekers research a company's reviews and ratings earlier even applying.

What ameliorate website to get a comprehensive insight into a company's management, salaries, company culture, and benefits, than Glassdoor – a leading employer and company review website boasting over 60 meg unique users per calendar month.

Having a positive online reputation on Glassdoor is no longer an "added bonus" that is weighed when determining whether to work for or engage with a company. Information technology is the new standard of what every potential employee applying to your company expects to see.

A positive visitor Glassdoor profile can make or intermission a company's employee hiring, retentiveness, satisfaction, appointment, and productivity. For case, a 1-star improvement in a company'due south Glassdoor rating raises the odds that a typical employee volition stay for their next position past iv%. What is more, it costs employers 33% of a worker'south annual salary to hire a replacement if that worker leaves.

If your business concern has been hitting with a negative or simulated review on Glassdoor, do not worry! Every company inevitably receives negative or fake reviews. You lot can provide an enjoyable piece of work environment, great bacon and benefits, ample growth opportunities, and treat every employee with the utmost respect, and even so receive a negative or fake review.

Whether it is an anonymous online troll, disgruntled employee or ex-employee, jealous and biting professional person competitor, or dissatisfied client, it happens to every company. What is critical is that you act to remove the negative or false review as quickly as possible.

Work With the Original Author to Remove the Review

The most effective and straightforward fashion to go a negative review removed is to directly approach the original writer. Resolving the problem with the source is the only mode to truly ensure the problem does non reappear down the road.

Take notation: if you have reason to believe the review is fraudulent, fake, or not from an actual employee, this is probably not the best approach. In such a case, your best selection is to flag the content or pursue legal action as we describe later below.

When deciding how to approach the state of affairs, it is of import to consider the post-obit:

• Exercise y'all sympathize why the author left the review they did?
• Should yous contact the current or former employee or achieve out at all?
• Who should reach out – management, 60 minutes, the CEO?
• Timing of your contact (the sooner, the better).
• Method of contact (nosotros usually recommend a phone call).
• What are reasonable options to remedy the situation (severance, confidentiality, etc…)?

Customer service is always a good strategy for dealing with ornery customers. Dealing with negative employee reviews are not much dissimilar. Granted, we recommend that businesses practise non respond to the review on the website where it was posted.

Responding to the review could make the review even more than visible in your online search results. Responding can also arrive harder to get the review removed at a later engagement if yous decide to flag and report it or pursue legal action, then we suggest contacting the author privately.

If possible, achieve out with a phone call listen carefully to their demands, or complaints. Assure the employee their feedback is being taken seriously. It is extremely like shooting fish in a barrel for a bulletin to be misinterpreted online or in an email so personal communication is key. Online and digital messaging can come across as impersonal.

Once you go far affect, it is extremely important to mind actively and intendance. Let the employee know that their feedback is appreciated. Give them a chance to talk and offer honest criticisms. Sometimes, people simply want to experience like they accept been listened to and have a voice or vent. Exist prepared to offer solutions and permit them know you volition address the problems. Assuming they are reasonable.

A heartfelt apology and a chance to experience heard may be plenty to resolve a lot of problems and reviews without the demand for legal intervention or whatever abuse reports to Glassdoor.

While oftentimes clients can resolve a negative situation with exemplary client service and management skills, sometimes an employee-employer relationship may accept deteriorated or become so strained that seeking legal help to handle this is advisable.

If an honest and heartfelt client service driven approach does non piece of work, then it is time to flag and report the review. We comprehend this in the next step.

Flag & Written report the Review

While we recommend personal contact with the author to resolve bad reviews every bit a first step, sometimes ex-employees tin can be also irrational or unreasonable to bargain with. In these cases, zilch you say or offer will suffice, and reaching out may fifty-fifty make the state of affairs worse.

If you are dealing with a fraudulent review or go the impression someone is attempting to extort you or posting simulated reviews under multiple aliases, information technology can be all-time to pursue options other than direct contact to go reviews taken downward.

When a personal phone telephone call is non possible (or practical) you may be able to turn to Glassdoor for assist. Glassdoor has policies against false reviews, defamatory reviews, and inappropriate content.

With respect to defamatory and false reviews, the Glassdoor website notes that, "information technology is not our role to investigate and fact check each argument in a review." However, they also clarify that they will remove reviews "if information technology's obvious…that a review is fake based on our access to reliable data from an independent source."

Defamation Fact: In order to bring a defamation merits against an writer, a plaintiff must prove specific facts to succeed. In most states, a plaintiff must prove that: (ane) the defendant published a false statement purporting to be a fact; (2) the statement concerns the plaintiff; (3) the defendant acted with negligence or actual malice when publishing the imitation argument; and (four) the plaintiff suffered reputational and/or economical harm as a result of the publication.

How to Flag a Glassdoor Review

Content that violates Glassdoor'due south Terms of Use can easily be flagged and it will be removed past Glassdoor. According to their Community Guidelines, some of the content Glassdoor considers inappropriate are:

• Content that misrepresents the author'due south electric current or quondam affiliation with an employer;
• Faux or fraudulent accounts;
• Content that is defamatory, libelous, or fraudulent that the writer knows to be simulated or misleading;
• Threats, harassment, and calumniating, racist, or narrow-minded content;
• Content that promotes illegal activities;
• Content that violates confidentiality, non-disclosure, or other contractual restrictions;
• Content that violates a tertiary party'south intellectual belongings or proprietary rights;
• Content that is sexually explicit;
• Content that reveals or solicits identifying data from minors.

For example, to gainsay fraudulent reviews, Glassdoor users may only write i review per yr, per visitor worked at. Should Glassdoor find testify of a user posting multiple reviews about the same company and through split accounts, all contributions from that user's accounts volition exist removed.

Glassdoor likewise provides comprehensive guidelines for reviewers to avoid defamation. Glassdoor lists several examples of what California Courts have found to found defamation and in violation of Glassdoor's Terms of Use. Several notable examples include:

• "Accusing someone of awarding urban center contracts to friends and giving bribes;
• Stating as "fact" that someone falsified evidence and presented it in court; and
• Stating that based on "my ain firsthand experience with this edifice, and its owners a landlord sought to evict half-dozen tenants and likely contributed to the deaths of 3 tenants and the departures of viii others."

To employ your employer profile to flag reviews, yous need to sign up for a gratuitous employer business relationship with Glassdoor. This volition enable you to respond to employee reviews and accept ownership of your company profile. As a business concern owner, it is wise to claim as many online review site profiles as possible to boost your online reputation.
Aaron Minca

To flag a review on Glassdoor, click the Flag icon located below the content. Then, choose the reason you lot are reporting the review from the drop-down carte and click Next.

In the text box, explain why you lot are reporting the review and which policy you recollect the review violates. According to Glassdoor, they volition answer to your request within 48 business concern hours. Still, flagging a review on Glassdoor mostly but leads to its removal when information technology conspicuously violates their Community Guidelines.

If you report a Glassdoor review and they practise not remove information technology, and you think that information technology violates their Customs Guidelines, then we recommend seeking legal help as soon equally possible.

At Minc Law, we have extensive experience removing reviews from Glassdoor and other pop employer review websites. We know how to approach employer review platforms to present testify and arguments to swiftly and finer remove fake and negative reviews.

Pursue Legal Action

Getting a review removed from Glassdoor is not e'er easy, especially if the review is defamatory. Most platforms like Glassdoor like to remain neutral and do not make judgment calls on whether reviews contain false information that they tin can not ultimately easily verify. If you lot take exhausted all your alternatives litigation is typically necessary to get negative reviews removed.

When pursuing litigation involving negative online reviews, in that location are two mutual situations:

• When the reviewer's identity is known, and
• When the reviewer is anonymous.

When the Reviewer'south Identity is Known

If you know who the reviewer is and they were actually an employee of your business organization, there is a chance you could be facing a contentious lawsuit. Filing an internet defamation lawsuit requires both tact and strategy, so it is crucial to discuss the potential risks, expenses, defenses, and privileges with an experienced lawyer.

This is not something y'all should tackle on your ain. It is imperative to reach out to an experienced net defamation attorney to propose you lot on the best grade of activity and the respective risks and costs of seeking legal activeness.

Several major factors that may impact the cost of your legal action include:

• Whether y'all are seeking budgetary bounty;
• If the reviewer'south identity is known or unknown;
• Whether a court order is necessary to remove the review(due south);
• Number of defamatory reviews on Glassdoor;
• Whether yous hold on a flat fee, retainer fee, or contingency fee construction with your lawyer; and
• Whether fourth dimension is of the essence or not.

When the Reviewer is Anonymous

If you lot are dealing with a imitation or anonymous reviewer, then removing the content will likely be more complicated – requiring y'all to file a John Doe lawsuit. A John Doe lawsuit is the process by which y'all tin can uncover an anonymous poster'southward truthful identity.

Video: How to Place Internet Users Backside Anonymous Harassment & Defamation

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Filing a John Doe lawsuit enables you and your attorney to conduct discovery and amendment internet service providers to determine a reviewer's identity of the anonymous reviewer. After identifying an anonymous reviewer, most matters typically settle quickly. If non, litigation against the identified employee generally ensues.

When Glassdoor reviewers are anonymous, businesses must carefully consider the best place to file their lawsuit for purposes of jurisdiction, discovery, and relief, likewise equally defenses that are available or common in a particular jurisdiction.

Additionally, having an attorney who is experienced in dealing with online review sites and Glassdoor is central. Glassdoor staunchly defends its users' correct to anonymity. And so information technology is vitally of import for your lawyer to know what common pushback and objections they will come across, and how to overcome it or you may never go the information you need.

John Doe lawsuits can go extremely complicated and must exist done quickly to fairly obtain and preserve necessary IP or other bear witness before it is destroyed. Fourth dimension is of the essence in many cases.

Online Reputation Fact: Online reputation direction (ORM) refers to the influencing and controlling of 1's online reputation. Closely tied to public relations, ORM tends to focus on reputation monitoring and repair, too equally damage prevention and recovery. ORM tin can be a very beneficial service for content that is still newsworthy, has gone viral, is related to a serious crime, or if legal action for content removal will take too long.

Other All-time Practices to Remove Glassdoor Reviews

Regardless of the strategy you use, beneath are a list of some do's, don't's, and other best practices for Glassdoor content removal:

• Do not threaten to sue Glassdoor

Ane of the near important tips to think when contacting Glassdoor is to be courteous and friendly. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Deed protects platforms like Glassdoor from liability for user-content, so threatening a lawsuit will non go yous very far. Nosotros go over Department 230 in greater item in the video below, including the pros and cons of the legislation, why it protects sites like Glassdoor from liability, and significant court cases that have shaped how information technology is interpreted.

Video: What is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act?

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• Do not resort to threatening your employees baselessly to keen them

Not only is this bad concern, but threatening employees will likewise probable backfire. Maintaining a positive online reputation starts with building a value-centered business civilization. Glassdoor's mission is to help people find a chore and company they love.

Treating your employees well goes a long way toward making your company a great place to work. Threatening employees will probably not lead to the removal of negative reviews and will nigh likely only increase the number of negative reviews you are receiving.

• Do not offer bribes

This goes hand-in-hand with our terminal suggestion. Bribes are non a component of value-centric businesses that strive for a wholesome culture. Offer bribes could atomic number 82 to an increase of negative reviews, or worse – legal sanctions. Pay for play ratings are strictly prohibited by Glassdoor's policies.

• Comply with Glassdoor's Terms of Use and Community Guidelines

Just as reviewers must comply with Glassdoor's policies, you volition likewise demand to follow their rules when using their website. Violating Glassdoor's rules could get your employer account terminated and certainly will not aid your case if you are requesting removal.

• Do not try to generate faux positive reviews or pay for reviews

Generating false reviews or offering to pay employees for positive reviews is unlawful and legally prohibited nether the Federal Merchandise Commission's Endorsement Guidelines. Not only could employees publicize the dishonest tactic, simply it also violates Glassdoor's policies.

Generating fake positive reviews in the wake of a negative state of affairs could ultimately trigger a malicious reviewer to ramp upwards their attacks by leaving more than negative reviews or engaging in further behavior that harms your visitor. Remember, after a user leaves a review, Glassdoor will continue to send them updates every single time a new review is posted.

• Brand certain to preserve all relevant prove if striking with a bad review

As soon as yous detect a defamatory or bad review, take a screenshot to preserve the evidence. If y'all have other evidence that proves how the review is fake, work to preserve information technology too. If you lot current of air up in a position where you have to pursue legal activeness, you will need to have supporting documentation readily available.

• Familiarize yourself with informative and helpful Glassdoor resources

Glassdoor provides countless resources for businesses that want to better their chances of removing negative and fake reviews, such as:

1. How to Respond to Negative Glassdoor Reviews;
2. Glassdoor Reviews: A Step-by-Footstep Guide For Employers;
3. The Do'due south & Don'ts of Asking For Reviews; and
4. 5 Essentials for Managing Glassdoor Reviews.

Reputation Management Tip: Content suppression is the act of creating positive content to bury unwanted or negative content from appearing in your search results. The more positive content yous have out there well-nigh your company, the more information technology combats negative or defamatory content. To boost your online reputation, you tin create a visitor website and web log. You should also use social media and claim any free business organization accounts similar those offered by Google and Glassdoor.

Work to Foreclose Negative & Fake Glassdoor Reviews Before They Happen

If you noticed a trend in our all-time practice recommendations, it is that your business culture matters. Cultivating a positive civilization and consequent branding is essential to the health of any business organisation. This starts with how you treat your employees and customers.

Engage with your employees and provide opportunities for transparency and feedback. Non only volition this help prevent a negative employee review, but it could lead to a happier and more productive workforce.

Information technology is also advisable to embrace your online presence. After all, the best defense against negative reviews is a good offense. Exist proactive. Keep an updated website, use social media, and accept over your free business profiles on Glassdoor and elsewhere. Highlight your company wherever employees are searching for you and publicize favorable reviews on multiple platforms if possible.

If your efforts to remove a negative Glassdoor review are being ignored or you practise not experience comfortable treatment the situation alone, it is recommended that you speak to an attorney.

★★★★★

"Very Happy, removed origin post and google search resultes as advertised."

A, May 21, 2021

At Minc Constabulary, we have proven success in removing negative reviews from Glassdoor and a host of other websites. We can assistance you lot protect your online reputation with a free, no-obligation consultation. Contact our office to learn more.

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Source: https://www.minclaw.com/remove-negative-fake-glassdoor-reviews/