Is this thing on? NJ appellate division bars employees' attempt to use secret audio recording in support of CEPA and LAD claims

Employees sometimes engage in questionable conduct to gather evidence to strengthen their claims of employment discrimination and retaliation. Recently, in Stark v. South Jersey Transportation Authority, two employees surreptitiously recorded a workplace conversation to support their claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The appellate division, however, pressed the "STOP" button on the Stark plaintiffs' efforts to use that recording as evidence, noting that the recording violated the New Jersey Wiretap Act and failed to satisfy the seven-part balancing test established by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Quinlan for determining whether that violation nevertheless constituted "protected activity" under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The Stark decision gives some comfort to employers that they can discipline an employee for blatantly illegal conduct without fear of being found liable for "retaliation" merely because the illegal conduct was undertaken to further the employee's previously asserted claims.