Notwithstanding a provision in the state’s whistleblower law barring other claims, a pair of plaintiffs who filed a whistleblower claim against their employer can also file suit for sexual harassment, the Appellate Division, First Department, said Tuesday.
Justice Peter Tom, writing for the unanimous panel, said invoking New York’s whistleblower statute, which prohibits retaliation against an employee for reporting unlawful corporate conduct that threatens the health and safety of the public, does not preclude workplace discrimination claims that are “separate and independent from plaintiffs’ retaliation claim.”
