The plaintiff, an accounts payable supervisor, alleged that her employer failed to maintain a smoke-free work area for non-smoking employees in violation of local law.  Shortly after she made a complaint to the Suffolk County Department of Health, she was terminated.  So, she sued the employer pursuant to Labor Law sec. 740, the “whistle-blower” law.  The Supreme Court for SuffolkCounty denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and awarded summary judgment to the plaintiff, ruling that the plaintiff’s attendance record, which the defendant cited as the reason for her termination, was only a pretext.

160 Misc.2d 315, 608 N.Y.S.2d 989, 9.1 TPLR 2.12, 10 IER Cases 601 (NY, Suffolk County Supreme Court, 1994).