Eric L. Siegel has over 25 years of experience dedicating his practice to the litigation and resolution of business, employment, civil rights, disability rights and whistleblower disputes.
Eric has tried jury and bench cases in both state and federal courts in numerous jurisdictions, including but not limited to the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He formerly served as a trial attorney in the Employment Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division where he enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
In addition, he spent the last decade working part-time in the real estate industry as an owner and developer, working on acquisition, financing, zoning, affordable housing, property management and leasing issues. Consequently, he understands first-hand the challenges facing owners, landlords and developers and approaches legal problems of real estate clients from a broader, results-driven and cost-effective perspective. He works closely with his clients to identify and fully understand their goals. Thinking strategically and creatively on behalf of clients, he uses all available tools to pursue a successful outcome for his clients.
Mr. Siegel has been a frequent lecturer and author on a wide array of topics, including employee work eligibility under immigration laws; compliance with wage and hour laws; emerging sexual harassment law issues; English-only rules; arbitrability of jurisdictional disputes in tri-lateral arbitration, ADA case analyses and articles on mental disability, health insurance, pre-employment inquiries under the ADA, which was published in Disability Discrimination in the Workplace (Clark Boardman Callaghan), and medical examinations and reasonable accommodation under the ADA, and litigation tactics to avoid summary judgment, publishing in several employment-related treatises.
- He has won appeals before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
- He has provided ongoing employment counseling to a trade association, partnerships, law firms, small businesses and individual entrepreneurs, including advice on proper termination procedures, sexual harassment complaint/investigation procedures, and compliance with non-competition and confidentiality agreements and wage and hour laws.
- He won a jury trial for retaliation on behalf of a Federal Bureau of Prisons employee who was blocked for promotions, obtaining full back pay, $300,000.00 in compensatory damages and other make-whole relief.
- He has had co-responsibility for preventing an HMO from terminating the provider contract of a physicians’ group allegedly in retaliation for the trial testimony of one of the physicians in support of a patient seeking medical reimbursement.
- He has litigated and resolved Takings litigation against governmental entities on behalf of real estate business clients.
- He has litigated in federal court and successfully settled a disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 on behalf of an applicant who was denied employment by the District of Columbia Government, Department of Public Works, obtaining $255,000.00 in damages.
- He has litigated in federal court and successfully settled a sex discrimination and retaliation case on behalf of a discharged officer of a private financial institution in the amount of $125,000.00.
- He has won multiple times in administrative hearings before U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including, for example, on behalf of an employee who was improperly targeted for a reduction-in-force action.
- He successfully settled a whistleblower claim against a federal contractor involving negotiation of a key employee agreement and a settlement in the amount of $425,000.00.
