Debra M. McGarvey is Of Counsel to the Sills Cummis & Gross Employment and Labor Practice Group. She advises management on employment law litigation and counseling matters.
Ms. McGarvey has extensive experience defending employers in state and federal courts in employment litigation matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour disputes, and restrictive covenants. These cases frequently involve the following statutes: the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the New Jersey Family Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. McGarvey provides counseling on employment policies and personnel issues that arise in the workplace, including restrictive covenant agreements, accommodations, and the hiring and discharge of personnel. She also drafts and updates personnel policies and employee handbooks, and drafts and negotiates employment contracts and separation agreements.
Before entering private practice, Ms. McGarvey served as a Deputy Attorney General at the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. In this role she acted as the lead attorney on numerous state and federal employment litigation matters, defending the State of New Jersey, its agencies, and employees from liability. She began her legal career as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Edward T. O’Connor, Jr. in the Superior Court of New Jersey.