Galit Kierkut, Evaluate and Enforce all cases Related to Legal Situations

Employment and labor law exists to protect the best interests of the people involved in our workforce. With the vast majority of individuals working in some shape or form, this area of law is responsible for some of the most applicable and relevant legislation in our daily lives. Yet at the same time, most people have only a basic understanding of the protections offered to them as employees, or the responsibilities given to them as an employer. That is why employment and labor attorneys work tirelessly to evaluate and enforce all cases related to legal situations in the workplace. Among these attorneys is Galit Kierkut, an attorney currently working at Sills Cummis & Gross in New Jersey.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1995, Galit Kierkut began devoting her career to the practice of employment and labor law. She focuses her practice on employment litigation and counseling by conducting human resource audits, performing management and employee training in sexual harassment, social media, and electronic communications use, and counseling clients regarding compliance with state and federal employment laws, including discrimination laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), family and medical leave, and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

She is also responsible for reviewing and drafting employee handbooks and social media policies and employment contracts. Social media policies are an area of particular interest to Galit Kierkut. She has published a number of papers on the topic including “The Risk of Social Media Usage in the Workplace”, “Monitoring Electronic Communications and Social Media Usage in the Workplace”, and “Recent Developments in Employment Law and the Impact of Technology on Workplace Trends”. The rise in technology has created a gap in the workplace between issues related to social media use and the laws that protect companies and employees from problem that come from this use. For example, intellectual property that technically belongs to a company can be shared, be it nefariously or otherwise, through social media. The problem is that this information is disseminated faster than ever before and companies have few means of stopping it.

Labor and employment law is constantly changing. Attorneys responsible for this area of law are expected to be dynamic, up to date, and experienced enough to adapt their knowledge to a variety of situations and circumstances.

Galit Kierkut And Tailoring The Contract

Galit Kierkut  is adamant that  every employment contract must be uniquely tailored to each individual company in order to maximize the protection and security of both the employee and the employer. It is highly likely that the company who is hiring new employees is in competition with rival firms to command a greater percentage of market share. For example, if a company has just been awarded the contract to supply services to the largest hospital in the state, expectations will obviously be high with regard to future profitability. The next step, however, is the defining one. Who will that company hire to manage the entire account from its inception to its conclusion? How will that company protect itself and its reputation throughout the life of the contract?

As Galit Kierkut points out, the importance of an employee contract is essential in today’s business world. Unemployment is low, and every company is desperately looking to hire and retain top talent. It is of paramount importance that employers are fully cognizant  of the laws of their state. This in itself is more complicated than would at first be thought – largely due to various interpretations and definitions of employment law in each separate state in the US. Trade secrets, proprietary customer information, confidential data, non-compete agreements, ownership of inventions and exclusive employment are all areas of concern addressed by the properly executed employee agreement. Furthermore, employees are encouraged to have their own attorney vet the document on the clear understanding that the employer has used professional counsel  to draft the agreement.

Galit Kierkut has made it her core emphasis to concentrate on employment legislation and counseling. She is meticulous in conducting human resource audits, while performing management and employee training in such thorny areas as sexual harassment, social media and electronic communications use, and is very adept in counseling clients regarding compliance with state and federal employment laws. To facilitate this process, Galit Kierkut pays extremely close attention to any amendments to existing discrimination laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), legislation governing family and medical absence, and the Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Galit Kierkut of New Jersey law firm Sills Cummis & Gross, has recently published a comprehensive document aimed at assisting employers in negotiating the tortuous labyrinth of frequently confusing laws relating to employment in the state of New Jersey. Galit Kierkut is a member of the Employment and Labor Practice Group, and is also a member of the executive board of the NJSBA’s Labor and Employment Law Section. Her paper not only covers the traditional challenges faced with creating and executing an employment contract, but also addresses the new roadblocks employers face with the rampant use of social media in the 21st century. She is therefore ideally positioned to offer guidelines to both employers and employees on what constitutes a workable employment contract.

Galit Kierkut, When to Arbitrate or When Not

Conflicts between companies and employees are an unfortunate reality in our professional world. As a microcosm of society itself, businesses cannot be expected to function flawlessly without any disagreements between employers and employees. The issue, therefore, becomes one of how to best handle these types of situations. The first step, obviously, is to simply avoid them altogether. It is prudent that companies and their employees both agree on and are clear about the expectations for their work agreements and contracts, and the consequences for not following through on these expectations. Aside from proactive steps to avoid these situations entirely, businesses and employees must decide on when to pursue varying levels of legal actions. For employers that do not rely on Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), the trend is often to pursue arbitration because it provides a level of certainty in costs and processes.

As employment and labor attorney Galit Kierkut writes in her article “To Arbitrate or Not to Arbitrate; That is the Question”, “employers might favor arbitration in employment contract disputes because arbitration is generally more cost-effective, is typically a private proceeding, is not decided by an unpredictable jury, and provides for limited rights to appeal”. In short, arbitration is relatively certain and that is a comforting fact when facing any type of legal issue, either for a company/organization or an employee. However, these types of proceedings are not without their own drawbacks. “Weighing against arbitration are issues like the employer bearing the cost of the arbitration, the fact that the arbitrators are perceived to be more likely to attempt to reach a compromise award regardless of the merits of the case and are less likely to dispose of a non-meritorious case in motion practice”.

That is why EPLI is so useful. It is a type of liability insurance that covers wrongful acts arising from the employment process. These claims typically fall under wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy, failure to promote, deprivation of a career opportunity, and negligent evaluation. These issues, although uncomfortable for employers and employees, are commonplace in the business world and that is why attorneys and legislation exist to handle such issues.

For Galit Kierkut, the issues surrounding arbitration and employment disputes are very familiar. She currently works for Sills Cummis & Gross, a full-service corporate law firm with offices in New Jersey and New York. Their clients range from Fortune 500 to emerging growth and foreign corporations doing business in the United States.