Section 34:5A-17 - Discharge or penalizing of employee for exercising rights; complaint; adjudicationa. No employer shall discharge, cause to be discharged, or otherwise discipline, penalize, or discriminate against any employee because the employee or his employee representative has exercised any right established in this act.b. Any employee who believes that he has been discharged, or otherwise disciplined, penalized, or discriminated against by an employer in violation of subsection a. of this section may, within 30 days of the violation, or within 30 days of obtaining knowledge that a violation occurred, file a complaint with the Commissioner of the Department of Labor alleging the violation. Within 30 days of the receipt of a complaint, the commissioner shall conduct an investigation of the complaint. If after the investigation the commissioner determines that there is probable cause that the complaint is valid, he may refer the complaint to the Office of Administrative Law, which, upon the referral, shall commence an adjudicatory proceeding on the complaint, to be conducted as a contested case pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L. 1968, c. 410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.), and P.L. 1978, c. 67 (C. 52:14F-1 et seq.). If the Commissioner of Labor or the employee introduces evidence that prior to the alleged violation the employee exercised any right provided in this act, the employer shall have the burden to show just cause for his action by clear and convincing evidence. Within 45 days of the receipt of the recommendations of the administrative law judge, the commissioner shall adopt, reject, or modify the recommendations. The final decision of the commissioner shall be considered the final agency action thereon for the purposes of the "Administrative Procedure Act" and shall be subject only to judicial review as provided in the Rules of Court.L.1983, c.315, s.17, eff. 8/29/1984.