Zuckerman Law named Eric Bachman, a leading employment lawyer, a Principal with the firm. Bachman, who joined Zuckerman Law in 2017, heads the firm’s discrimination and retaliation practices. His litigation practice includes glass ceiling, sexual harassment, and whistleblower retaliation cases.
Washingtonian magazine named Bachman a Top Whistleblower Attorney in 2017, and the ABA Journal recognized his Glass Ceiling Discrimination Blog as one of the best legal blogs in the country. Bachman is frequently quoted in the media about worker rights and protections, including the Washington Post, Law360, Lifehacker, and other publications.
Bachman is an accomplished trial attorney, most recently serving as Deputy Special Counsel, Litigation and Legal Affairs, at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC). Previously, he served for five years as a Special Litigation Counsel and Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
At OSC, Bachman oversaw investigations and enforcement of the Whistleblower Protection Act, and spearheaded an initiative to combat whistleblower retaliation at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bachman has also testified at several Congressional hearings on whistleblower protections for federal employees.
The Secretary of Labor appointed Bachman to serve on the Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee from 2015 to 2017, which makes recommendations on how to improve federal whistleblower protections. Bachman is frequently asked to provide legal training on whistleblower retaliation and litigation topics.
At the Department of Justice, Bachman served as lead counsel in the largest Title VII case in the Department’s history (U.S. v. City of New York). This disparate impact class action was vigorously litigated for years and ultimately resulted in an approximately $100 million settlement in 2014. The case challenged the New York City Fire Department’s hiring practices, which the court ruled had discriminated against thousands of African-American and Hispanic job applicants. In 2014, Bachman received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Bachman was a partner in a Washington, DC civil rights law firm, where he litigated class action and individual employment discrimination cases, including a class action case against a major grocery chain that settled for $16 million. In cases against private companies and government agencies, he has litigated in federal courts across the country, argued and briefed appeals as well as motions for class certification and fairness hearings. Bachman began his career as a public defender and served as lead or co-counsel in numerous jury trials. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
“I could not be happier to become a Principal with Zuckerman Law,” Bachman said. “The firm’s aggressive and first-rate representation of victims of discrimination and retaliation is truly impressive and I’m honored to work here.”
“The firm is honored to have Eric join as a Principal. His record of achieving extraordinary results on behalf of victims and retaliation will be a tremendous asset to the firm,” said Managing Principal Jason Zuckerman. “Eric is among a rare breed of attorneys that have established significant precedent in their field and have expanded legal protections for victims of discrimination and retaliation. At a time when there is a long overdue focus on combating sexual harassment and glass ceiling discrimination, we look forward to litigating cases that will benefit not only our clients, but also remedy systemic discrimination and shatter the glass ceiling.”
