Michele D’Onofrio was a Warren Township municipal prosecutor who claimed to have been fired for alleging that the municipal court judge was drunk on the bench. In June 2007, D’Onofrio made a complaint to Warren Township and to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, accusing the judge of being drunk during court. Two years later, the New Jersey Supreme Court found that the judge had violated multiple rules on judicial conduct. However, D’Onofrio was not rehired to her position with Warren Township and she sued under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”), N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 to -8.

CEPA is a New Jersey statute that prohibits retaliation by employers where an employee: discloses to a public body any policy/practice of the employer that the employee reasonably believes is illegal; participates in a public body’s investigation of the employer; or refuses to participate in a policy/practice of the employer that the employee reasonably believes is illegal, fraudulent, or against public policy.

CEPA provides for recovery for the plaintiff as well as recoupment of the plaintiff’s attorneys fees from the employer. A jury verdict earlier this year had awarded D’Onofrio $1.38 million in damages after it determined she was wrongfully terminated by the municipality, consisting of $551,903 in compensatory damages and $827,854 in punitive damages, plus $39,820 in prejudgment interest. Additionally, the court awarded $1.26 million for attorney’s fees and costs.