As an employee in New Jersey, you can engage in certain activities that are protected under the law. If your employer is engaging in misconduct, you have the right to come forward as a whistleblower. You even have the right to conscientiously refuse to participate in the activity. However, your employer may not take kindly to this, and they may engage in retaliation against you. If your protections have been violated, you can take legal action against your employer to seek financial compensation.
CEPA Exists for Your Protection
New Jersey has one of the strongest whistleblower protection laws in the entire country. The Conscientious Employees Protection Act (CEPA) serves to aid employees who report unethical conduct or violations of the law. CEPA means that your employer cannot retaliate against you for the actions that you have taken to express your disagreement with your employer’s conduct.
Under the law, any type of retaliatory action is illegal. Of course, you cannot be fired by your employer when you have reported misconduct. Wrongful termination is just one thing that is illegal. Your employer may also not do the following:
- Act in a way that makes you feel isolated on the job.
- Create a hostile environment where you are subject to either intimidation or disparaging comments.
- Reduce your hours or cut your shifts.
- Make your work situation so intolerable that you feel that you have no choice but to quit.
- Take any other type of adverse action against you, such as downgrading your performance review.
- Denying you benefits for which you are entitled on the job.
Your protections result from the fact that CEPA has enforcement “teeth” to it. Namely, you have the ability to sue your employer if they have violated your rights under the law.
CEPA allows you to recover compensation from your employer when you can prove the following elements:
- Engagement in protected activity.
- Employer’s knowledge of the protected activity.
- Retaliatory action taken against the employee.
- Causal connection between activity and retaliation.
There are times when an employer can take actions against you that are independent of your whistleblowing activity. For example, they may have a legitimate concern about your performance on the job. Then, you must come up with the proof that shows that any reason the employer gave for the actions that they took against you was a pretext. An employer is never going to give the real reason for why they did something because they know that it would subject them to significant liability.
What Compensation Can I Recover Under CEPA?
If you are able to successfully file and prove a CEPA lawsuit, you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation. This fact alone should make an employer think twice before they take any type of retaliatory action, but they often think that they can get away with their conduct.
Your compensation under CEPA may include:
- Back pay for the wages that you missed out on because you were terminated or had your hours cut.
- Future pay for the damage to your employment prospects, either because you are out of a job or because your employer helped blacklist you.
- Emotional distress damages for the ordeal that your employer subjected you to after you reported their misconduct.
- Attorney’s fees.
- Punitive damages, if your employer engaged in egregious conduct.
Although your legal rights certainly exist on paper, they only become a reality when you hire an experienced whistleblower attorney to vigorously enforce them. Your lawyer can help cut through any pretext and gather evidence that can be used to prove that you were wrongfully retaliated against as a whistleblower.
A South Jersey Whistleblower Lawyer at The Law Offices of Leo B. Dubler, III, LLC Will Protect Your Legal Rights
If you believe that your employer is retaliating against you for reporting their misconduct or refusing to take part in it, speak to a South Jersey whistleblower lawyer at The Law Offices of Leo B. Dubler, III, LLC. We can advise you of your legal rights and help you take action if they were violated. We offer free consultations to prospective clients, and you can schedule one by messaging us online or by calling us today at 856-235-7075. With offices in Mount Laurel and Atlantic City, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas.