New Jersey Supreme Court Holds That Employees Disciplined for Stealing Confidential Company Documents in Support of Discrimination Claims Can Sue for Unlawful Retaliation
The New Jersey Supreme Court has just announced a new test under which an employer may be held liable for unlawful retaliation when taking action against an employee who misappropriates and uses confidential company documents against the employer in support of a discrimination claim. Those who believe that simplicity is a virtue will not have their minds changed by the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation, in which the Court, by a 5-2 majority, established a complex and confusing seven-part “balancing test” for determining whether an employee’s wrongful taking of company documents nevertheless constitutes “protected activity” under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”). Applying this test, the Court held that the plaintiff in Quinlan could have been terminated for the wrongful taking of documents, but should not have been terminated for her attorney’s use of one of the documents at a deposition.