Leslie E. Silverman

LESLIE E. SILVERMAN

SHAREHOLDER

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1909 K Street, NW, Suite 330, Washington, DC 20006

Tele: (202) 689-1200 | Fax: (202) 689-1209
lsilverman@fortneyscott.com

Leslie E. Silverman is a shareholder at Fortney & Scott, LLC where she counsels and advises clients on complying with workplace laws, and a wide range of workplace issues, including discrimination and harassment based on race, sex, religion, disability, age, employment screening, pay discrimination, and inclusive practices. Ms. Silverman frequently represents clients before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other government agencies and specializes in conducting high-level and high stakes workplace investigations.


Ms. Silverman serves as an independent monitor, in consent decree resolutions and conciliation agreements between employers and the EEOC, and in private settlements, where she addresses allegations of widespread discrimination and harassment. In this role, she works with employers to ensure they have effective and compliant policies, robust complaint and investigation procedures, impactful workplace training programs, effective and compliant application processes, supervisor accountability measures and appraisal systems. She also collaborates with employers on the development of employee surveys, feedback tools and other key components of effective culture initiatives.


Ms. Silverman previously served as the Vice Chair of the EEOC until September 2008, and as a Member of the Commission starting in 2002. During her tenure on the Commission, she initiated and led an internal Systemic Task Force which resulted in the 2006 overhaul and reprioritization of EEOC’s Systemic Discrimination Program; spearheaded the examination of discrimination against caregivers and issuance of the 2007 Caregiver Guidance; shepherded the 2008 Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination through the Commission and led an effort to expand and enhance the EEOC’s mediation program in partnership with the American Bar Association. Ms. Silverman also served as Labor Counsel to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (“HELP”) Committee, where her responsibilities included oversight of EEOC, the Department of Labor and handling EEO, FLSA and FMLA legislation and oversight on behalf of the HELP Committee.


Ms. Silverman is a fellow at the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers and a member of the College’s DC Circuit Credentials Committee. She is also a member of the American Employment Law Council and the American Bar Associations’ EEO Committee.


Ms. Silverman is a frequent speaker on EEO law and the EEOC.

Practices


Professional Activities

  • College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow and Member of the DC Cir. Credentials Commitee
  • American Bar Association, Equal Employment Opportunity Committee
  • American Employment Law Council
  • Institute for Workplace Equality, Faculty Member
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce Labor Relations Committee


Admitted to Practice

  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals
  • Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit


Education

  • Georgetown University Law
    Center (LL.M. with distinction)
  • American University Washington
    College of Law (J.D.)
  • University of Vermont (B.S.)
July 21, 2026
The EEOC voted 2 to 1 on Tuesday, July 21st to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind the requirement for employers and other covered entities to file an annual report with the EEOC summarizing aggregate data on their employees’ race and sex (reports known respectively as the EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, EEO-5, and EEO-6 reports or EEO Data Reports). This includes the rescission of recordkeeping requirements related to these reports.  The proposal states that the Commission has determined the EEO Reports are inconsistent with equal employment opportunity law, may raise constitutional concerns, and that the collection of data is not narrowly tailored or necessary to enforce anti-discrimination statutes. EEOC determined that the reports, which had been collected since, 1966, have limited value, which was outweighed by the significant burdens they impose on employers and on the Commission. Once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register, individuals will have only 30 days to submit comments on the 60-page proposal. The Institute for Workforce Equality is planning to submit comments. Please contact your FortneyScott attorney or email us at info@fortneyscott.com with any thoughts you have on the proposed rescission, or on employer record-keeping obligations generally.
June 25, 2026
On Wednesday, June 24, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) extended EEOC’s information collection under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) through June 29, 2029. UGESP requires employers covered by Title VII to collect and maintain records on the race, sex and ethnicity of those impacted by their employment selection procedures but does not require employers to report the data. EEOC and other enforcing agencies can then demand to see such data in connection with any investigation of employment discrimination. Please contact your FortneyScott attorney or email us at info@fortneyscott.com for additional information.
June 11, 2026
The Directive is driving a significant shift in compensation reporting and transparency across the EU, and requires employers to disclose salary ranges to applicants, share internal pay-setting criteria, and conduct gender pay reporting. With the June 7, 2026, deadline for Member States to transpose the Directive into national law, employers need to understand their compliance obligations and prepare for unresolved implementation questions. In this webinar, FortneyScott attorneys will help U.S. companies with operations in the EU understand the Directive’s requirements, including how they differ from U.S. compliance frameworks. We will discuss best practice lessons that can be adopted from U.S. pay transparency and reporting laws and, importantly, provide key contrasts of the U.S. practices that are not applicable in the EU. Key topics include: The Directive’s scope and coverage Reporting obligations under the Directive Status of Member State transposition Practical compliance steps employers can take now Who should attend. This webinar is designed for in-house counsel, HR leaders, and senior professionals at multi-national organizations responsible for compensation, benefits, and employment law compliance.
May 21, 2026
Join FortneyScott attorneys on Thursday, June 11, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT for a complimentary webinar on the European Union (“EU”) Pay Transparency Directive (the “Directive”). To register, please click here . The Directive is driving a significant shift in compensation reporting and transparency across the EU, and requires employers to disclose salary ranges to applicants, share internal pay-setting criteria, and conduct gender pay reporting. With the June 7, 2026, deadline for Member States to transpose the Directive into national law, employers need to understand their compliance obligations and prepare for unresolved implementation questions. In this webinar, FortneyScott attorneys will help U.S. companies with operations in the EU understand the Directive’s requirements, including how they differ from U.S. compliance frameworks. We will discuss best practice lessons that can be adopted from U.S. pay transparency and reporting laws and, importantly, provide key contrasts of the U.S. practices that are not applicable in the EU. Key topics include: · The Directive’s scope and coverage · Reporting obligations under the Directive · Status of Member State transposition · Practical compliance steps employers can take now Who should attend. This webinar is designed for in-house counsel, HR leaders, and senior professionals at multi-national organizations responsible for compensation, benefits, and employment law compliance. Register to attend. To register, please click here .
May 14, 2026
On Thursday, May 14, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a technical amendment removing the salary threshold increases under 29 C.F.R. Part 541, adopted in April 2024. DOL stated that it was following the decisions made by federal courts in November, and that the amendment reinstated the 2019 salary levels applicable to the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The current salary levels are $684 per week for exempt employees and $107,432 annually for highly compensated employees. This change codifies the enforcement posture DOL has maintained since the 2024 rule was invalidated. While this does not alter current compliance obligations, it resolves regulatory inconsistency by restoring the 2019 framework in the regulations and eliminating the 2024 provisions. Employers should confirm that exemption classifications continue to be evaluated against the reinstated 2019 thresholds and remain attentive to any future rulemaking in this area. Stay tuned. FortneyScott will continue to monitor whether there will be further substantive revisions to the white collar regulations. If so, it is likely be in the DOL’s regulatory agenda, which we understand will be published in the near future. Should you have any questions, please reach out to your FortneyScott attorney.
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