On Monday, the New Jersey Supreme Court was asked to put a limit on the ability of a fired employee to sue for discrimination based on the employer's post-discharge conduct. The New Jersey Supreme Court justices heard an employer's appeal from an Appellate Division ruling last year that allowed such suit to go forward against a Moonachie company, even though the alleged post-discharge misconduct was ultimately resolved in the plaintiffs' favor.
A panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division allowed the suit to proceed under under Northern & Santa Fe Railroad Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006), which held that the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act extend beyond workplace-related or employment-related retaliatory acts and harm. At Monday's arguments, New Jersey employment lawyer for the employer, Dena Epstein, said there had to be a point where post-discharge conduct cannot be considered a continuing violation of under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. "Otherwise, the potential claims are endless," she said.
