The Employer Handbook Blog

That is the question that a former Starbucks employee is asking the NJ Supreme Court to answer. More on this case and what it could mean for actions asserted under NJ's Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) after the jump...

Continue reading "Is it whistleblowing when your job is to report violations of the law?" »

But before I get to that, did you know that The Employer Handbook turns one today? It's true. Help me blow out the candle -- hey, kid! Save some for the rest of us.

Whatevs.

Just click through because I've got a crazazy one for you. It's a true story about a police officer - slash - ambulance driver who started a high-speed ambulance chase to serve a restraining order on a co-worker's ex-boyfriend and then...

Yeah, just hit the jump...

Continue reading "The curious case of a high-speed ambulance-chasing whistleblower" »

In a press release issued yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it is implementing additional measures to strengthen the Whistleblower Protection Program.

A brief rundown of these new measures follows after the jump...

Continue reading "OSHA wants employees to blow more whistles" »

Consider this scenario:

Employee believes he is being discriminated against. Employee complains to Human Resources. HR investigates, but is unable to substantiate the employee's claims. Employee nonetheless sues his employer, alleging discrimination. While the lawsuit is pending, the employer fires the employee for reasons it claims are unrelated to the pending action.

According to a recent unpublished NJ decision, the employee could have both a discrimination claim and a whistleblower claim under New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA).

Ain't that some sh!t!

More on this important decision and the impact it may have on employers, after the jump...

Continue reading "Yikes! NJ discrimination victims may tack on a whistleblower claim" »

In New Jersey, a private employer may not fire an employee who objects to or refuses to participate in any activity that the employee reasonably believes is illegal or would endanger public health, safety, or welfare. This is codified in New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA).

The typical CEPA claim involves an employee who alleges that he/she was fired after complaining directly to management about some business-related conduct that the employee thought was legally or morally wrong. But what about when an employee confronts a customer, on the employer's premises, about something the employee reasonably believes that the customer has done wrong? If the employee is later fired, does the employee have a viable CEPA claim?

Find out, after the jump...

Continue reading "Whistleblowing on a customer is NOT protected activity in NJ" »