As an employee, you are probably aware that there are laws preventing employers from discriminating against you based on race, creed, national origin, age, handicap, gender, sexual orientation or marital status. However, you may not realize that there are also laws that prevent your employer from punishing you for filing a complaint for discrimination, harassment or for participating in a whistleblower investigation.
Employer retaliation is the act of penalizing an employee for engaging in a lawfully protected behavior. Examples of employer retaliation include those listed below:
- Being laid off or fired
- Demotion
- Being denied a raise
- Not being transferred to a desired position
- Being denied training
- Other negative employment actions
Retaliation by an employer is prohibited when it is against an employee who complains internally or to an outside agency such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about workplace discrimination. Additionally, as long as the complaint was made in good faith, it’s irrelevant if the claim was unfounded.
Conscientious Employee Protection Act
In the State of New Jersey, the statute that protects whistleblowers is known as the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, or CEPA. Under the Act, one of the provisions prohibits employers from retaliating against any employee who, “discloses, or threatens to disclose, to a supervisor or to a public body an activity, policy, or practice of the employer or another employer, with whom there is a business relationship, that the employee reasonably believes is in violation of a law, or a rule or regulation issued under the law, or, in the case of an employee who is a licensed or certified health care professional, reasonably believes constitutes improper quality of patient care.”
Neil H. Deutsch has been practicing law for over 35 years and is known as a skilled negotiator in employment and discrimination law. He believes in a bottom-line approach of risk analysis and cost effectiveness for his clients. "Case evaluation is something we take seriously," says Mr. Deutsch who seeks top net dollar for his…
Bruce L. Atkins is the Senior Managing Partner at Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt P.C., a prominent plaintiff employment law firm in the tri-state area. Mr. Atkins believes employees’ rights should be aggressively pursued when they’ve been wrongfully dealt with by their employers. He brings this philosophy to his practice when considering each case and its…
Adam J. Kleinfeldt joined Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt, P.C. in March of 2015. He primarily represents individuals in employment litigation such as discrimination, retaliation and whistle blowing matters. He has extensive experience in all phases of the litigation process. Adam has obtained significant results for his clients, including a $525,000 jury verdict in a sexual…
Debra M. McGarvey joined Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt, P.C. in December 2019. She has extensive experience defending employees and employers in state and federal court in employment litigation matters. She has represented clients on various issues arising out of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), the…
Carly Skarbnik Meredith, Esq. is a Partner at the firm. Carly has focused her career exclusively in the field of employment law. She has a plethora of experience representing both employees and employers with their employment issues, needs, and concerns. She believes representing both employees and employers has made her an extremely well-rounded client advocate.…
