Deputy Special Counsel Eric Bachman Joins D.C. Whistleblower Firm Zuckerman Law

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eric Bachman has joined Zuckerman Law as Of Counsel, where he will head the firm's employment discrimination and retaliation practices.  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.  During his tenure with OSC, the number of favorable actions for whistleblowers increased by over 50% agency-wide, and he negotiated a record-breaking compensatory damages settlement in a high-profile retaliation case. 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 against Fortune 500 companies, 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 summary judgment.  Bachman began his career as a public defender and served as lead or co-counsel in numerous jury trials resulting in acquittals. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

"We are honored that Eric has chosen to join the firm and look forward to working with him to obtain justice for victims of discrimination and retaliation," Zuckerman Law Principal Jason Zuckerman commented.  "Eric's unique breadth of litigation experience and track record of success, including his role as lead counsel in achieving a $100 million class action settlement, positions the firm to deliver exceptional service for our clients."

Zuckerman Law is a Washington DC firm representing whistleblowers nationwide in whistleblower rewards and whistleblower protection claims, and representing employees in discrimination, retaliation, harassment, non-compete, and other employment-related litigation in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. The firm publishes the Whistleblower Protection Law Blog, a leading blog analyzing developments under whistleblower protection and whistleblower reward laws.

Contact: Jason Zuckerman, [email protected]

SOURCE Zuckerman Law