New Jersey residents may be surprised to hear that the state produced more whistle-blower tips in 2012 than almost any other state. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released a report about the first complete year of the Dodd-Frank whistle-blower law — which created incentives as well as protections for people who come forward to report securities violations, corporate misconduct and fraud — and it turns out that New Jersey produced the fifth highest number of these whistle-blower tips last year.

The law reportedly led to a total of more than 3,000 whistle-blower tips, with California producing the most, followed by New York, Florida, Texas, and finally New Jersey and Washington state tying for fifth place with 102 whistle-blower complaints each. Many people might be wondering why so many whistle-blower complaints came in from our state.

While we cannot yet be sure what has led to this, New Jersey’s own whistle-blower protections may have played a role. New Jersey has one of the strongest whistle-blower laws in the country in the Conscientious Employee Protection Act. This law provides whistle-blowers with a path to job reinstatement, back pay, benefits, attorney’s fees and sometimes punitive damages if their whistle-blowing results in retaliation.

So, for as long as CEPA has been on the books, New Jersey has been a relatively safe place to blow the whistle on one’s employer in comparison to other states. With the creation of the Dodd-Frank whistle-blower law, potential whistle-blowers in New Jersey received an added motivation to speak up, which may have led to the large number of complaints.

However, it is very important to note that there are still serious risks associated with blowing the whistle on one’s employer. New Jersey residents may benefit from a solid understanding of their rights and legal responsibilities before proceeding with a whistle-blower claim.

Source: CNBC, “Guess Which State Has a Really Surprising Number of Whistleblowers,” John Carney, Jan. 3, 2013

• To learn more about your whistle-blower rights in New Jersey, please visit our New Jersey law firm’s Whistle-blower page.