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.)

New OFCCP Regulations – What Federal Contractors Need to Know

September 10, 2026

On August 21, 2026, the OFCCP finally published its final rules upending long-standing affirmative action requirements for federal contractors. While the elimination of EO 11246 regulations was expected, the substantial changes to Section 503 were less expected. By September 21, contractors must not only update their systems to remove now banned requirements but also determine how they will meet their affirmative action requirements without data collection. We will break down the most important developments, explain which obligations remain in place, and highlight practical steps organizations can take now to reduce risk, preserve defensible compliance practices, and prepare for what comes next. In this webinar, you will learn how to: Identify the OFCCP changes most likely to affect your affirmative action program strategy; Evaluate how revised Section 503 requirements may affect disability-related data collection, outreach, and documentation; Understand continuing VEVRAA obligations for protected veteran compliance. Manage transition issues for current and upcoming AAP cycles; and Prioritize practical next steps for policies, records, audits, and stakeholder communications.

Register for FortneyScott's Webinar on New OFCCP Regulations – What Federal Contractors Need to Know

August 27, 2026

Join FortneyScott attorneys on Thursday, September 10, 2026 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm EDT for a timely and practical webinar on the revised OFCCP regulations and how contractors should respond. To register, click here . On August 21, 2026, the OFCCP finally published its final rules upending long-standing affirmative action requirements for federal contractors. While the elimination of EO 11246 regulations was expected, the substantial changes to Section 503 were less expected. By September 21, contractors must not only update their systems to remove now banned requirements but also determine how they will meet their affirmative action requirements without data collection. We will break down the most important developments, explain which obligations remain in place, and highlight practical steps organizations can take now to reduce risk, preserve defensible compliance practices, and prepare for what comes next. In this webinar, you will learn how to: Identify the OFCCP changes most likely to affect your affirmative action program strategy; Evaluate how revised Section 503 requirements may affect disability-related data collection, outreach, and documentation; Understand continuing VEVRAA obligations for protected veteran compliance. Manage transition issues for current and upcoming AAP cycles; and Prioritize practical next steps for policies, records, audits, and stakeholder communication s. To register for this webinar, please CLICK HERE .

DOL Issues Final Rules Affecting Federal Contractors

August 20, 2026

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will publish in the Federal Register the three final rules impacting federal contractor regulations on Friday, August 21, 2026. Executive Order 11246 regulations – DOL finalized the rescission of its regulations for EO 11246, effective October 26, 2026, to eliminate the obligations of federal contractors to prepare affirmative action plans based on race and sex, in addition to nondiscrimination provisions, and additional compliance requirements. This is to align with EO 14373, wherein President Trump rescinded EO 11246. Section 503 of Rehabilitation Act – DOL finalized the elimination of the disability self-identification requirements as well as the 7% utilization goal. In addition, the CC-305 Form will be eliminated. DOL holds that the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers, including federal contractors, from collecting voluntary disability identification from applicants and employees. The nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation requirements are maintained. Contractors with 50 or more employees and $50,000 or more in contracts will continue to be required to prepare affirmative action plans and to assess their outreach and recruitment. DOL moved the administrative procedures provisions from EO 11246 regulations here. VEVRAA – DOL’s revisions to the VEVRAA regulations were mostly technical, retaining the obligation to provide voluntary self-identification of veterans and to prepare affirmative action plans. DOL added the administrative procedures to these regulations and updated the jurisdictional threshold from $150,000 to $200,000. Please contact your FortneyScott attorney or email us at info@fortneyscott.com for more information.

EEOC Proposes Rescission of EEO-1 Report

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.

Approval of EEOC Information Collection under UGESP

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.

Leslie E. Silverman