Consumer advocates have filed a suit challenging a North Carolina whistleblower law. The goal is to stop new North Carolina regulations that help employers punish people who get hired seeking to tell company secrets.
The federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday by several groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Center for Food Safety.
The suit claims the law violates free-speech and equal protection rights. State legislators passed it last summer over the veto of Gov. Pat McCrory.
Opponents say the law was passed to end hidden-camera exposes of animal cruelty at farms and meat-packing plants. They believe it could intimidate other employees from reporting misdeeds like elder abuse at nursing homes.
North Carolina's business lobby pressed for the law, saying more protections were needed against people who land jobs to steal intellectual property.
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