Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that an employee can pursue a retaliation claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 based on being fired because his fiancée objected to discrimination by the same employer. Title VII is a federal law that prohibits employment…
On April 14, 2011, New Jersey’s Appellate Division ruled that filing an employment discrimination lawsuit can be a protected “whistleblower” activity under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). Among other things, CEPA prohibits New Jersey employers from retaliating against an employee because he discloses or threatens to disclose…
On February 28, 2011, New Jersey’s Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion ruling that a jury should decide whether the New Jersey Department of Corrections (“DOC”) retaliated against one of its employees, Bienvenido Montalvo. Mr. Montalvo Filed a National Origin Discrimination Complaint With the EEOC Mr. Montalvo worked for DOC…
As an employment lawyer, I am often asked whether an employee can take copies of documents from their job to help prove discrimination or retaliation. There is no simple answer to that question. Rather, as the New Jersey Supreme Court recognized last week in Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation, the answer…
On November 10, 2010, New Jersey’s Appellate Division ruled that a civil service employee can bring a lawsuit alleging that discipline against him was retaliatory even if he did not appeal a Civil Service Commission decision upholding the discipline. In Racanelli v. County of Passaic, James Racanelli sued the County…
The False Claims Act is a federal whistleblower law. It allows individuals who have information about a company defrauding the federal government to bring lawsuits on behalf of the federal government. Someone who brings a case under the False Claims Act can receive between 15% and 25% of any money…
Two weeks ago, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a retaliation lawsuit against New York based Fox News Network LLC, the company that owns and operates the Fox News Channel. According to the EEOC’s September 30, 2010 press release, the lawsuit alleges that Fox News retaliated against…
On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Among its numerous provisions, the new law contains important economic incentives and legal protections for certain financial whistleblowers. As a result, it creates new employment law rights for employees in…
Earlier this year, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an employer can violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination if it retaliates against an employee after it fires him. The Appellate Division decision reached the same conclusion in 2008, as discussed in a previous article. The New Jersey Law…
Q. What is the Conscientious Employee Protection Act? A. The Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) is New Jersey’s whistleblower law. It is one of the broadest anti-retaliation laws in the country. It provides broad protection to employees who report illegal and unethical workplace activities. Its primary purposes are to encourage…