Wrongdoing by companies can go undetected without the willingness of individuals and employees to come forward with reports. Because of the important role whistleblowers have in exposing corporate malfeasance, both the federal and New Jersey state government have enacted multiple whistleblower laws. These laws provide incentives to individuals who have inside information about fraudulent schemes and other wrongful acts committed by their employers to blow the whistle.
Whistleblower protection laws also contain anti-retaliation provisions to protect people who come forward with information about their employers’ wrongdoing or perceived wrongdoing. If your employer retaliated against you for complaining or threatening to complain about their legal violations, you should consult the experienced attorneys at Swartz Swidler. As employment lawyers, we have substantial experience representing people in whistleblower and retaliation claims and can provide you with an honest assessment of the legal merits of your case.
What Are Whistleblower Laws?
Whistleblower laws are laws designed to encourage individuals to report inside information about the wrongful acts committed by their employers or others. In most cases, these individuals are employees working for employers that engage in wide-scale fraud schemes against government agencies or investors or who engage in other activities that violate public policy or regulations. There are numerous federal and state whistleblower laws. Individuals with inside, non-public information can step into the shoes of the government and file lawsuits against the bad actors on the government’s behalf. The government will then investigate the complaint and decide whether it will take over the prosecution or leave it for the whistleblower to pursue on their own.
Whistleblower laws provide incentives or rewards to whistleblowers when the information they bring forth results in the government’s successful recovery of monetary penalties and damages. Whistleblowers might receive rewards from 10% to 30% of the amount the government recovers, depending on the particular law and the value of the whistleblower’s information and assistance.
Some of the most important federal whistleblower laws include the following:
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- False Claims Act
- Whistleblower Protection Act
- Whistleblower Protection Enforcement Act
- Military Whistleblower Protection Act
Other federal laws extend protections to whistleblowers when they report violations of those laws, including the Internal Revenue Code, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and others.
NJ Whistleblower Law: The Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA)
New Jersey also has whistleblower protection laws, of which the most important is the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). This law protects employees who report their employer’s illegal conduct or provide information to investigators about their employers’ activities. CEPA forbids employers from retaliating against whistleblowers for reporting or threatening to report their illegal actions. It also prohibits retaliation against employees who refuse to participate in activities the employees reasonably believe to be unlawful.
To qualify for protection against retaliation under CEPA, the actions reported by the employees do not have to be illegal. It is enough for an employee to report an employer’s activities when the employee reasonably believes the employer has violated the law even when the employer’s actions were technically legal.
What Is an Adverse Employment Action?
Federal whistleblower laws and CEPA prohibit employers from engaging in retaliatory action against employees who complain or threaten to complain about the employer’s illegal conduct or violations of public policy. Retaliation includes any adverse employment action the employer might take against an employee for blowing the whistle, including the following examples:
- Demoting the employee
- Refusing to give the employee an expected raise
- Reducing the employee’s wages
- Giving the employee fewer hours
- Terminating the employee
Whistleblower most often involves termination, but it can include any adverse action taken against the employee in retaliation for the employee’s blowing the whistle or participating in an investigation. Employers are not prohibited from taking adverse actions against employees for valid reasons, however. For example, if an employee reported their employer’s actions against public policy, the employer would be prohibited from retaliating against them for making the report. However, the employer could still terminate the employee for being chronically late to work, missing too many work days, or other similar things.
When Is an Employer Prohibited From Retaliation?
CEPA specifically prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for engaging in any of the following actions: Filing a complaint or threatening to complain about an employer’s violation of a state regulation, rule, or law
- Filing a complaint or threatening to complain about the employer’s fraudulent or criminal activities
- Filing a complaint or threatening to complain about a healthcare professional’s poor quality of patient care
- Giving information or participating in an investigation into the employer’s potentially illegal behavior by a public agency
- Complaining about, objecting to, or refusing to participate in the employer’s activity when the employee believes it violates public policy or the law
Employees are not required to specify the law they believe their employer violated to be protected against retaliation under CEPA. An employee will still be protected against retaliation even when they were wrong about the employer violating the law as long as the employee had a reasonable belief that the conduct was unlawful.
What Should You Do if Your Employer Has Engaged in Retaliation for Whistleblowing?
If your employer retaliated against you after you complained about their illegal conduct or a policy or procedure that violated a regulation or public policy, you should consult the New Jersey employment lawyers at Swartz Swidler. We can analyze your case and discuss the next steps. Call us at 856-685-7420 to request a free consultation.
