SYLLABUS (This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized). Thomas Best v. C&M Door Controls, Inc. (A-57-08) Argued March 10, 2009 -- Decided October 14, 2009 PER CURIAM Before the Court is the interplay between fee-shifting statutes, in particular the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) and the Prevailing Wage Act (PWA), and the offer-of-judgment rule. In 2004, Thomas Best sued his former employer, C&M Door Controls, for violations of the PWA and the CEPA, claiming that he had been underpaid on PWA work and that, when he complained, his employer retaliated against him. Invoking Rule 4:58, the offer-of-judgment rule, Best offered to take judgment in the amount of $100,000, inclusive of counsel fees against C&M. C&M countered with two offers