The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to review two cases that could not only cripple employee statutory rights but will profoundly affect our entire legal system. Yes, I know, as a do-gooder employee rights attorney, I am melodramatically portending that the sky will fall as Cassandra did with her dire warnings to Troy’s King Priam about the Trojan Horse. But Cassandra was proven right, as her unheeded warnings ultimately led to Troy’s destruction. If our Supreme Court adopts the employers’ arguments in both cases, the rulings will not only nullify the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) and shorten statutes of limitations for employee statutory claims, the court will also undermine the rule of law and create chaos.
The two appeals, Lippman v. Ethicon, 432 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 2013), certif. granted 217 N.J. 292 (2014), and Rodriguez v. Raymours Furniture Co., 436 N.J. Super. 305 (App. Div. 2014) certif. granted, ___ N.J.___ (Dec. 5, 2014), present, at first blush, two different legal issues. The Lippman decision will turn on the employer’s argument that an employee who reported unsafe company products to his superiors but whose job duties required him to do so does not deserve whistle blower protection from employer retaliation under CEPA. Rodriguez will decide if an employer can unilaterally and arbitrarily shorten the two-year statute of limitations under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to six months through its employment application. The common theme that arises out of these two cases is that if the employers’ arguments prevail, they will be allowed to evade the law by unilaterally using their policies to: (1) nullify an antireprisal statute; and (2) shorten a statute of limitations. In other words, laws passed by the legislature to protect employees will become meaningless.
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