A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a volunteer firefighter was not an “employee” of the volunteer fire company from which he was expelled, rejecting his whistleblower claim and strictly interpreting the state’s...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Jersey’s Appellate Division upheld summary judgment dismissing a claim of whistleblower retaliation under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”), finding that plaintiff, an unpaid volunteer...more
Lately, we’ve been seeing more cases in which public-sector employees accuse their governmental employer of violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such claims can arise in many ways, but with the...more
On May 11, 2017, a federal jury in Charlotte, North Carolina awarded a former fire department employee, Crystal Eschert, a $1.5 million verdict in a retaliatory discharge lawsuit that teaches powerful lessons in today’s...more