2024-25 NEW JERSEY ASSP CHAPTER ELECTION CANDIDATE-SECRETARY

Meghna Dhawan: Environmental Health Safety and Sustainability (EHS&S) Manager at Nestle Health Sciences.

Meghna is responsible for the implementation & support of Environmental Health Safety and Sustainability Site Operations strategy for Nestle Health Science.

Meghna started her career with Johnson & Johnson as an EHS Specialist supporting Medical Device manufacturing operations, and AbbVie Biopharmaceutical. Meghna brings to the team experience as an operational production supervisor building strong cross functional relationships with engineering and maintenance teams, experience with implementation and maintained compliance of ISO14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 45001 (Safety Management), & ISO 50001 (Energy Management) as well as experience leading outreach Sustainability efforts to educate employees on waste reduction, energy conservation, and compost recycling programs.

Meghna has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Purdue University as well as a Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Sciences, with a concentration in Industrial Hygiene, from University of Illinois at Chicago.

FP Snapshot on Workplace Safety: Will SCOTUS Whistleblower Ruling Have Broader Impact on OSHA Investigations?

Below is an article written by the NJ Chapter Secretary Phillip Bauknight who is a Partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP.

Welcome to this edition of the FP Snapshot on workplace safety, where we take a quick snapshot look at a recent significant workplace law development that affects your safety and health programs. This edition is devoted to how a recent Supreme Court ruling could impact workplace retaliation claims and OSHA whistleblower investigations. Read on to find out what you need to do as a result.

What Happened?

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court held that a whistleblower does not need to show their employer acted with retaliatory intent to prove retaliation under a federal law that protects financial investors. Instead, the Justices unanimously held that a whistleblower bringing a claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) needs to show that their protected activity (such as reporting or disclosing violations) was a contributing factor in the adverse employment decision. The ruling resolves a disagreement among federal appeals courts and sets a consistent standard of proof in SOX cases. As a result, we expect to see more whistleblower claims make it to a jury trial.