From mmreturn@magnetdev.com Tue Jan 5 07:30:17 2010 Return-Path: <mmreturn@magnetdev.com> Received: from mail35.magnet101.com (mail35.magnet101.com [209.18.93.35]) by smtp.XXXXXXX.XXX (8.14.3/8.14.3) with ESMTP id o05FUDgs025263 for <XXX@XXXXXXXX.XXXXXXX.XXX>; Tue, 5 Jan 2010 07:30:16 -0800 Message-Id: <201001051530.o05FUDgs025263@smtp.XXXXXXX.XXX> Received: from MAGNETMAIL1 (172.17.35.1) by mail35.magnet101.com id h8ddgg0ir20i for <XXX@XXXXXXXX.XXXXXXX.XXX>; Tue, 5 Jan 2010 10:30:11 -0500 (envelope-from <mmreturn@magnetdev.com>) Date: Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:30:10 -0500 From: editor@principalinvestigators.org To: <XXX@XXXXXXXX.XXXXXXX.XXX> Subject: Your Issue: January 5, 2010 X-TokenInfo-NoToken: X-Bps1: 4644490748 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_NextPart_000_898625_201015_103010937" X-Proofpoint-Virus-Version: vendor=fsecure engine=1.12.8161:2.4.5,1.2.40,4.0.166 definitions=2010-01-05_09:2010-01-05,2010-01-05,2010-01-05 signatures=0 X-Proofpoint-Spam-Details: rule=notspam policy=default score=0 spamscore=0 ipscore=0 phishscore=0 bulkscore=100 adultscore=0 classifier=spam adjust=0 reason=mlx engine=5.0.0-0908210000 definitions=main-1001050106 --_NextPart_000_898625_201015_103010937 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable PI e-Alert features expert advice on managerial and administrative challeng= es which confront Principal Investigators in every field of science researc= h.=20 No. 10, January 4-8, 2010 Managerial: Charged with Defamation? =20 Reader Question:=A0=A0 One of my lab techs wants to transfer to another lab on our campus. Its PI= happens to be a good friend of mine. The employee wants me to provide a g= ood reference, but truth is she is irresponsible and I'm glad to get rid of= her. Do I dare write my colleague the truth about his prospective hire? W= ould I risk being charged with defamation? What about merely "whispering" = the situation to him over a drink? =20 =20 Expert Comments:=A0 There is an old joke that internal transfers are the easiest way to get rid= of a marginal employee and make him/her someone else's headache. Your dil= emma really is that "the someone else" is your friend. At the heart of wha= t you want to know is (1) whether there are legal repercussions if you spea= k your truth and (2) the etiquette around putting a close colleague on the = receiving end of your offloaded problem, if you don't. Maybe even more imp= ortantly is what you mean by "irresponsible" and whether that same trait wi= ll manifest in your friend's lab group? First off, let's put the legalities in perspective. Defamation is an expres= s or implied claim that puts an individual in a negative light. It has to b= e printed (libel) or spoken (slander) to a third party (published) to be ac= tionable. There is no doubt that speaking or writing derogatory informatio= n about another can provide an opportunity for them to sue you. The good n= ews though is that if you can prove that your statements are true, it is a = complete defense and you=20 View the remainder of the expert comments at: XXXXXXXprincipalinvestigators= .org/news.php Comments by=A0Susan Parker, J.D., President, Corporate Content, Inc Agree? Disagree?=A0Submit your comments at XXXXXXXprincipalinvestigators.or= g/news.php ??Preview of Next Week's Question?? No. 11, January 11-15, 2010 Reader Question:=A0 Often times I see vendors that offer an ipod orother gadget or gift certifi= cate if you purchase a certain amount of product. What are the rules regard= ing this when you are using federal grant dollars and are at a public Unive= rsity? Are the rules different depending on funding source or your employer? Submit your early-bird questions at XXXXXXXprincipalinvestigators.org/news.= php ________________________________________________________________________ Missed Last Weeks's Question? Reader Question:=20 A month ago I was flying to a convention of my research specialty in San Fr= ancisco, and in one of my checked bags was my notebook computer and three d= iscs of raw data (non-encrypted) on about 800 patients we have enrolled in = a clinical trial. But the airline lost the bag in transit. Of course, I fi= led a "lost bag" claim with them, but no trace of it yet. Little hope now. = I have heard there is some new law called HITECH that applies to lost data.= What should I do at this point? Should I already have done anything?=20 View the expert comments at XXXXXXXprincipalinvestigators.org/news.php ________________________________________________________________________ This issue was brought to you as a service by=A0Principal Investigators Ass= ociation. If you have general questions or comments contact us at=A0editor@= principalinvestigators.org. * Please note that in some cases the unsubscribe links in t= hese messages can become broken by the way that an email program displays t= he message. If you are having trouble unsubscribing you may also forward th= is message to unsubscribe@principalinvestigators.org=A0with the word 'remov= e' in the email message subject line. Principal Investigators Association=A0 3565 10th St N, Suite B Naples, FL 34103 USA (800) 303-0129=0A=0D*************************************= ************************* =0A3565 10th Street N, Naples, FL 34103 =0A****= **********************************************************=0AUse this link = to unsubscribe: XXXXXXXwww.magnetmail.net/Actions/unsubscribe.cfm?message_id=3D898625&user_= id=3DPRININVEST&recipient_id=3DXXXXXXXXX&email=3DXXX@XXXXXXXX.XXXXXXX.XXX&gro= up_id=3D421269 --_NextPart_000_898625_201015_103010937 Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable =09 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "XXXXXXXwww.= w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns=3D"XXXXXXXwww.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <<head> <meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Language" content=3D"en-us" /> <meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dutf-8" /> <title>PI e-ALERT</title> <style> <!-- .style19 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: left; border: 2px solid #FF0000; } .style20 { font-size: small; font-family: Biondi; } .style11 { font-size: small; } --> </style> <base target=3D"_parent"> </head> <body bgcolor=3D"#CCCCCC"> <p align=3D"center"><font face=3D"sans-serif" size=3D"1">0Please add "<a hr= ef=3D"mailto:editor@principalinvestigators.org">editor@principalinvestigato= rs.org</a>"=20 to your whitelist or address book, so that you have no trouble receiving fu= ture=20 issues!</font></p> <table align=3D"center" bgcolor=3D"#FFFFFF" style=3D"width: 570px; height: = 600px" cellpadding=3D"4" border=3D"2" bordercolor=3D"#FF0000"> <tr> <td valign=3D"top" style=3D"width: 570px"> <img src=3D"XXXXXXXimages.magnetmail.net/images/clients/PRININVEST/PIeAle= rt_banner.gif" width=3D"570" height=3D"121"><br> =A0<table width=3D"570"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p align=3D"left"><font size=3D"2" face=3D"sans-serif"><b>PI e-Alert=20 weekly e-zine is delivered worldwide.</b></font> <font size=3D"2" face=3D"sans-serif">Feel free to <a href=3D"mailto:?subject=3DPI e-ALERT weekly">share</a> this issue w= ith friends and colleagues.<a href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3D= XXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294005&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2= url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022&AdID=3D473844"> Subscribe=20 Today!</a><a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r= =3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294006&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXw= ww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022&AdID=3D470817"></a></font= ></p> </td> </tr> </table> <table width=3D"570"> <tr> <td> <p align=3D"left"> <font face=3D"sans-serif" style=3D"font-size: 7pt">PI e-Alert </font><= font face=3D"sans-serif" style=3D"font-size: 7pt">features expert=20 advice on managerial and administrative challenges which confront=20 Principal Investigators in every field of science research.=20 If such matters are not of interest to you or your associates,=20 please accept our apologies and "unsubscribe" at the bottom of=20 the page.</font></p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr style=3D"height: 1px; width: 570px;" noshade color=3D"#FF0000"> <table style=3D"width: 570px; font-size: 12px;"> <tr> <td><p align=3D"right">No. 10, January 4-8, 2010</p> <p><b><font face=3D"sans-serif" size=3D"3"><u>Managerial:</= u></font><br /> <br /> </b><font face=3D"sans-serif" size=3D"5"><b>Charged with De= famation?</b></font><br /> </strong><br /> <font size=3D"3"><strong>Reader Question:=A0</strong><stron= g>=A0</strong><em>One of my lab techs wants to transfer to another lab on o= ur campus. Its PI happens to be a good friend of mine. The employee wants= me to provide a good reference, but truth is she is irresponsible and I'm = glad to get rid of her. Do I dare write my colleague the truth about his p= rospective hire? Would I risk being charged with defamation? What about me= rely "whispering" the situation to him over a drink?</em></font> = =20 <font size=3D"3"> <p align=3D"left"><strong>Expert Comments:</strong>=A0There= is an old joke that internal transfers are the easiest way to get rid of a= marginal employee and make him/her someone else's headache. Your dilemma = really is that "the someone else" is your friend. At the heart of what you= want to know is (1) whether there are legal repercussions if you speak you= r truth and (2) the etiquette around putting a close colleague on the recei= ving end of your offloaded problem, if you don't. Maybe even more importan= tly is what you mean by "irresponsible" and whether that same trait will ma= nifest in your friend's lab group?</p> <p align=3D"left">First off, let's put the legalities in pe= rspective. Defamation is an express or implied claim that puts an individua= l in a negative light. It has to be printed (libel) or spoken (slander) to = a third party (published) to be actionable. There is no doubt that speakin= g or writing derogatory information about another can provide an opportunit= y for them to sue you. The good news though is that if you can prove that = your statements are true, it is a complete defense and you </p> <p align=3D"right"><a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.c= fm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294007&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3Dhttp= ://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022&AdID=3D473845">View t= he remainder of the expert comments</a></p> <p><em>Comments by=A0<strong>Susan Parker,</strong> J.D., P= resident, Corporate Content, Inc</em></p> <p align=3D"center">Agree? Disagree?=A0<a target=3D"_blank"= href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D829400= 8&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?Merch= antID=3D163022&AdID=3D473846">Submit your comments</a></p></font> <p>=A0</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td>=A0</td> </tr></table><hr style=3D"height: 1px; width: 570px;" noshade color=3D"= #FF0000"> <table width=3D"100%"> <tr> <td><p align=3D"center"><strong><em>??Preview of Next Week's Question??= </em></strong></p> <p align=3D"right">No. 11, January 11-15, 2010</p> <p align=3D"left"><strong>Reader Question:=A0</strong><em>O= ften times I see vendors that offer an iPod or other gadget or gift certifi= cate if you purchase a certain amount of product. What are the rules regarding this when you are using federal grant dollars and are at a public University? Are the rules different depending on funding source or your employer? </em></p> <br /> <p align=3D"center"><a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"XXXXXXXwww= .mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294009&m=3D898625&u=3DPR= ININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022&AdID= =3D473847"><img src=3D"XXXXXXXimages.magnetmail.net/images/clients/PRININVE= ST/EarlyBird.gif" alt=3D"Early-bird comments" border=3D"0" />=A0</a>=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0<a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http:/= /www.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294010&m=3D898625&u= =3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022= &AdID=3D473848"><img src=3D"XXXXXXXimages.magnetmail.net/images/clients/PRI= NINVEST/OwnQuestion.gif" alt=3D"Submit your own question" border=3D"0" align= =3D"absbottom" /></a></p></td> </tr></table><br /> <hr noshade=3D"noshade" color=3D"#FF0000" /> <table> <tbody> <tr><td width= =3D"390"><p align=3D"left"><strong><em>Missed Last Weeks's Question?</em></= strong></p> <p align=3D"left"><strong>Reader Question: </strong><font size= =3D"3"><em>A month ago I was flying to a convention of my research specialt= y in San Francisco, and in one of my checked bags was my notebook computer = and three discs of raw data (non-encrypted) on about 800 patients we have e= nrolled in a clinical trial. But the airline lost the bag in transit. Of c= ourse, I filed a "lost bag" claim with them, but no trace of it yet. Little= hope now. I have heard there is some new law called HITECH that applies to= lost data. What should I do at this point? Should I already have done any= thing?</em></font></p>=20 <p align=3D"right"><a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.c= fm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294011&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3Dhttp= ://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022&AdID=3D473849">View t= he expert comments</a></p><br /> <p></p></td> <td width=3D"10" valign=3D"to= p" rowspan=3D"2"> </td> <td width=3D"160" valign=3D"top"> <p align=3D"cent= er">Don't miss January's featured audio conference <a href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mm= send7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294012&m=3D898625&u=3DPRINI= NVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D163022&AdID=3D= 473146">"Writing Successful Proposals":</a><a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"htt= p://www.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8294013&m=3D898625= &u=3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=3D1630= 22&AdID=3D473851"><img src=3D"XXXXXXXimages.magnetmail.net/images/clients/P= RININVEST/LiveAudio012610x.gif" alt=3D"AC Banner" width=3D"150" height=3D"2= 90" border=3D"0"></a> </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width=3D"160"> </td> </tr> = </table><br /> <hr style=3D"height: 1px; width: 570px;" noshade color=3D"#F= F0000"> <table width=3D"100%"> <tr> <td><p align=3D"center"><a target=3D"_b= lank" href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid=3D8= 294014&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?= MerchantID=3D163022&AdID=3D473853"><img src=3D"XXXXXXXimages.magnetmail.net= /images/clients/PRININVEST/SubNoCharge2.gif" alt=3D"Subscribe" width=3D"152= " height=3D"62" border=3D"0" /></a></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr noshade=3D"noshade" color=3D"#FF0000" /> <table width=3D"100%" bgcolor=3D"#CCCCCC"> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor=3D"#FFFFFF">This issue was brought to you as a se= rvice by=A0<em>Principal Investigators Association</em>. If you have genera= l questions or comments contact us at=A0<a href=3D"mailto:editor@principali= nvestigators.org">editor@principalinvestigators.org</a>. <p>* Please note that in some cases the unsubscribe links i= n these messages can become broken by the way that an email program display= s the message. If you are having trouble unsubscribing you may also forward= this message to <a href=3D"mailto:unsubscribe@principalinvestigators.org">= unsubscribe@principalinvestigators.org</a>=A0with the word 'remove' in the = email message subject line.</p> <p align=3D"center">Principal Investigators Association=A0<= br /> 3565 10th St N, Suite B<br /> Naples, FL 34103 USA<br /> (800) 303-0129</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> <td bgcolor=3D"#FFDBFF"></tbody> </table> </body> </html> =09 =09 <p align=3D"center"> Click <a href=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/ls.cfm?r=3DXXXXXXXXX&sid= =3D8294015&m=3D898625&u=3DPRININVEST&s=3DXXXXXXXwww.magnetmail.net/Actions/= unsubscribe.cfm?message_id=3D898625&user_id=3DPRININVEST&recipient_id=3D= XXXXXXXXX&email=3DXXX@XXXXXXXX.XXXXXXX.XXX&group_id=3D421269">here</a> to unsubs= cribe.</p><br><P align=3Dcenter><FONT size=3D2>3565 10th Street N, Naples, = FL 34103</FONT></P><br>=0A <img src=3D"XXXXXXXwww.mmsend7.com/spacer.cfm?tr= acking_id=3DXXXXXXXXXX"> --_NextPart_000_898625_201015_103010937--