New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog

The New Jersey State Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a $10.6 million retaliation judgment filed by a New Jersey employment lawyer on behalf of his client and articulated a test for deciding whether an employee can use confidential company documents in a Law Against Discrimination suit. The Court, in Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., A-51-09, voted 5-2 to reverse a published appeals court ruling that an employee's use of a confidential record during her LAD suit was legitimate ground for termination. The two dissenting justices warned that Thursday's ruling means businesses can no longer fire employees for stealing highly sensitive personnel documents while suing their employers. The Court was unanimous in holding that there was sufficient evidence of egregious conduct to support the $4.6 million punitive damages verdict won by the plaintiff, Joyce Quinlan, against her former employer, Curtiss-Wright Corp. This was a major victory for employment lawyers representing employees in the State of NJ.