Return to Home Page
Leslie E. Silverman became Vice Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on September 8, 2006, after serving as a Commissioner since March 7, 2002. She was first nominated by President George W. Bush in February 2002 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 1, 2002. Ms. Silverman was renominated to a full term in July 2003 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in October 2003. Her current term expires on July 1, 2008.
As a member of the Commission, she participates with the other Commissioners on all matters which come before it, including the development and approval of enforcement policies, authorization of litigation, and issuance of Commissioner’s charges of discrimination. Vice Chair Silverman led the EEOC’s Systemic Task Force which examined the EEOC’s efforts at combating systemic discrimination. In April 2006, the Commission unanimously adopted the Task Force’s recommendations. Based on those recommendations, the Commission launched a new, comprehensive, nationwide systemic program. Vice Chair Silverman also helped spearhead the Commission’s examination of discrimination against workers with caregiving responsibilities, co-chairing two Commission meetings on the subject in early 2007. This effort culminated in the issuance of new EEOC enforcement guidance on the issue. Vice Chair Silverman also is a participant on the Center for Work-Life Policy’s “Hidden Brain Drain” Task Force which focuses on the retention and advancement of women and minority employees. Throughout her tenure, Vice Chair Silverman has been active in the EEOC’s mediation program, and led an effort to expand and enhance the program in partnership with the American Bar Association. Vice Chair Silverman is a frequent speaker on EEO law and the EEOC, both in the United States and abroad.
Immediately prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Silverman served for five years as Labor Counsel to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. From 1990 to 1997, she was an associate specializing in employment law and litigation with Keller and Heckman, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm.
A native of Needham, Massachusetts, Ms. Silverman received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont; a Juris Doctor degree from the American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C.; and a Masters degree With Distinction in labor and employment law from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Ms. Silverman’s bar memberships include the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She also is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Sixth Circuits.
This page was last modified on February 12, 2008.