Eric Dreiband

Meeting of July 15, 2009 – Age Discrimination in the 21st Century-Barriers to the Employment of Older Workers

Eric Dreiband represents companies in all aspects of civil rights, employment discrimination, and wage and hour litigation. He counsels clients on compliance with these labor and employment laws as well.

From 2003 to 2005, Eric served as the general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate. As general counsel, he directed the federal government's litigation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. While at the EEOC, he issued the EEOC's Regional Attorneys' Manual, which established the policies and procedures of the Commission's litigation program. He also managed approximately 300 attorneys and a national litigation docket of 500 cases during a time when the EEOC's litigation program recovered more money for victims of discrimination than at any other time in the Commission's history.

Prior to becoming EEOC general counsel, Eric served as deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. During this time he directed the federal government's enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Migrant Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and other federal labor laws. For his contribution to the DOL's efforts to update the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime exemption regulations, he received the Secretary of Labor's Exceptional Achievement Award. Eric also received the Secretary of Labor's Compliance Assistance Award for leading the DOL's efforts to increase compliance with the federal child labor laws.

Before joining the government, Eric practiced law in Chicago, Illinois, where he litigated cases before state and federal trial courts, appellate courts, and administrative agencies. From 1997 to 2000 he served as associate independent counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr. For his work in that office, he received a special commendation from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Office of Inspector General for leading the investigation and successful prosecution of a former associate attorney general of the United States.

Eric has spoken and written extensively about civil rights, employment discrimination, and wage and hour laws. He also has testified about these subjects before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and is listed in the 2008 edition of Chambers USA as one of the best labor and employment lawyers in Washington.

Admitted

District of Columbia; Illinois; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Seventh, and District of Columbia Circuits; and U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and the District of Maryland

Education

Northwestern University (J.D. with honors 1992; Articles Editor, Law Review); Harvard University (M.T.S. 1989); Princeton University (A.B. 1986)

Government/Military Service

General Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2003-2005); Deputy Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (2002-2003); and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr (1997-2000)

Clerkship

Law Clerk to the Honorable William J. Bauer, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (1992-1994)

PUBLICATIONS

January 2009    ALERT: President Obama Signs First Bill: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

January 2009    Significant Labor and Employment Initiatives of the Obama Administration and 111th Congress

PAST SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

2009 Labor & Employment Legislative and Regulatory Briefing     June 19, 2009      New York, New York