On July 15, 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that an employee who monitors corporate compliance—a so-called “watchdog” employee—can engage in protected activity by blowing the whistle under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”) in the course of performing the tasks and functions of the job for which he or she was hired. Lippman v. Ethicon, No. A-65/66-13. In so ruling, the Court rejected a well-established line of lower court cases holding that activities which are part and parcel of an employee’s assigned responsibilities cannot amount to whistleblowing—otherwise known as the “job-duties” exception.
Joseph O’Keefe
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Trends in N.J. Whistleblowing and Retaliation Law – 2014 Roundup
By John Barry, Joseph O’Keefe & Daniel Saperstein on
2014 was another busy year for developments in whistleblowing and retaliation law in New Jersey. This blog post summarizes noteworthy state and federal cases for employers to consider in the new year.