A damages evaluation begins with what the alleged retaliation changed in the employee’s life and work. Salary is one part of that inquiry. Benefits, career progression, health and the ability to obtain another position may also require review.
Potential relief
Depending on the proof, CEPA permits relief that can include lost compensation and benefits, reinstatement, injunctive relief, reasonable legal fees and costs, and tort remedies such as compensation for emotional harm. Punitive damages require an additional legal showing; they do not follow automatically from a finding of retaliation. N.J.S.A. 34:19-5.
Future losses and ability to work
Future earnings claims require a factual foundation. In Donelson v. DuPont Chambers Works, 206 N.J. 243 (2011), the Court recognized that economic damages may be recoverable when retaliation causes a psychological disability that prevents continued employment, without requiring proof of constructive discharge in those circumstances. It did not make every resignation compensable.
Documents that assist an evaluation
Gather pay and benefit records, information about later earnings, a job-search log and records of claimed health effects that you can lawfully provide. Counsel may need economic, vocational or medical evidence depending on the issues.
A public verdict in another case is not a valuation formula. Gray Law Group evaluates liability, causation, available proof, defenses and the practical circumstances of the individual matter.
This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.