Last month a Wake County jury awarded a large verdict of $3.75 million to a former State Highway Patrolman who proved that his termination from the force was in punishment or retaliation over whistleblower activity. The plaintiff and former trooper, Reginald Newberne, alleged that he was fired after he had truthfully reported information about possible excess use of force by other officers in connection with a DWI stop. After a week long trial, the jury agreed that Newberne was unlawfully terminated in retaliation for breaking a "code of silence" that prohibited officers from reporting misconduct by their peers.
The size of the verdict is a stark reminder of the dangerous nature of whistleblower or retaliation claims. Juries are often times very troubled when it is proven that an employer punishes an employee for exposing its unlawful activity. We often here the adage that "the cover-up is worse than the crime." Whistleblower cases, such as this one, tend to similarly demonstrate the danger of an employer's decision to punish employees who attempt to disrupt a cover-up by reporting misconduct.
If you have questions about whistleblower protections, please see our previous discussion of recent whistleblower developments or feel free to call attorney Brian Alligood, an experienced North Carolina employment law attorney, at (336) 907-3902 for counsel.
