Steven Sommese v. C&S Wholesale Grocers

Steven Sommese sued C&S Wholesale Grocers for firming him after he complained that the refrigerations system he worked on violated an environmental law in 2002. Sommese told C&S that the refrigeration unit that he was working on was leaking refrigerant into the atomsphere in violation of the Clean Air Act. He was told to simply recharge the unit despite the fact that it continued to leak. He claimed that his supervisor began harassing him and tranferred him to a less desirable location and put him on a less desirable shift. He sued his employer under New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act which prprhibits employers from retaliating against employees who speak out about practices that they believe to be illegal.

C&S denied that it retaliated against Sommese and claimed that he was fired for legitimate reasons.