State and federal regulations concerning workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic contain sufficiently clear mandates of public policy to serve as the basis for a whistleblower complaint, Superior Court Judge Verna Leath ruled in a suit against Vantage Custom Classics of Avenel, a maker of promotional apparel. She rejected a motion to dismiss by Vantage’s counsel, which asserted that the whistleblower claim is faulty because it is based on a public policy mandate that is “vague, controversial, unsettled or otherwise problematic.”

The ruling suggests that whistleblower suits related to COVID-19 and related workplace safety precautions, an active category during the pandemic, could find themselves on firm footing.