An employee named Howard Flecker filed a claim against his employer for unpaid wages. The employer then sent all employees a memo that everyone’s hours (and, therefore, pay) would be cut because of his unpaid wages claim. The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that the employer violated New Jersey’s whistleblower law, known as CEPA, by “creating a hostile work environment through a memorandum that defendants knew or should have known would incite plaintiff’s co-workers, who then commenced harassing plaintiff about his lawsuit to such an extent that the work environment became so intolerable to plaintiff that he was forced to resign.” See Flecker v. Statue Cruises (App.Div. November 14, 2012).

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