Legal landscape note: This article was originally published in 2015 and describes the law as it stood at that time. New Jersey law changes frequently.
You told your employer about something illegal or unsafe at work. Instead of fixing the problem, the company came after you: a sudden suspension, a demotion, a termination dressed up as restructuring. New Jersey law calls that retaliation, and a story that made national headlines shows exactly how the pattern unfolds.
Jon Costa, a food and beverage manager in Kansas City, revealed the KC Royals knowingly served expired food to spectators and fans of the Fall Classic. Costa, formerly employed by a major, US-based food service provider, was put on administrative leave after an ESPN "Outside the Lines" expose was published on ESPN.com detailing bugs, mold, and expired food were served during the 2014 World Series at Kansas City's Kaufman Stadium. At the time, Costa alleged he's spent months trying to get senior management to address the reported issues without success.
Costa was subjected to an adverse employment action - he was retaliated against for bringing to light some very serious allegations about his company's interactions with the public. Moreover, Costa brought those allegations to senior management first, but was ignored. Only after alerting public health officials and the media was action taken by his employer...and that action was to silence him and ultimately terminate him.
If you believe your employer retaliated after you reported potentially illegal activity, preserve the original report, the employer's response, and records of the later suspension, demotion, or termination. Those documents help establish what the employer knew and when the adverse action followed.