'Watch List': New Jersey Supreme Court Considers Appeal of Indictment of Whistleblower Who Stole Cache of Confidential Documents to Support Claims

Employers and the plaintiff’s bar eagerly await the decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court after it recently heard oral argument in an appeal of the state’s indictment against Ivonne Saavedra for criminal theft after she took more than 300 documents to support her civil lawsuit under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). Saavedra, who filed a lawsuit against her employer under state anti-discrimination laws and CEPA, had unsuccessfully argued to the intermediate appellate court that whistleblowers have an “absolute right” to take potentially damning documents in support of their lawsuits. The appellate court, in a split decision, rejected her arguments and upheld the criminal indictment that had been filed against her. The New Jersey Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in this matter is likely to further define the boundaries of protected and unprotected conduct under CEPA.