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Eric Dreiband

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Eric Dreiband
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division
In office
October 12, 2018 – January 8, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJohn M. Gore (acting)
Succeeded byKristen Clarke
General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
In office
2003–2005
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byClifford Gregory Stewart[1]
Succeeded byRonald S. Cooper[2]
Personal details
Born
Eric Stefan Dreiband

(1963-09-23) September 23, 1963 (age 61)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Harvard University (MTS)
Northwestern University (JD)

Eric Stefan Dreiband (born September 23, 1963) is an American lawyer. While a partner at Jones Day,[3] he was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.[4] The Senate confirmed his appointment on October 11, 2018.[5]

He resigned on January 8, 2021, without providing a specific reason for the departure.[6]

Early life and education

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Dreiband graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in history in 1986.[7] He has a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School, and a Juris Doctor from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Career

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Upon graduating from law school, Dreiband served as a law clerk to Judge William J. Bauer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Following his clerkship, Dreiband served in the Independent Counsel's office for the Whitewater controversy. After a stint in private practice, Dreiband served in the administration of George W. Bush as deputy administrator of the United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) from 2002 to 2003 and as general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2003 to 2005. He again returned to private practice in 2005 and joined Jones Day in 2008.[8][9][10]

Notable cases

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Dreiband takes oath as EEOC General Counsel in 2003
  • In 2002, Dreiband was part of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) team that sued Chicago meat processing company Carl Buddig & Co. for not hiring black people at its Chicago and South Holland meat processing plants and for limiting higher pay opportunities for women. The company settled and agreed to pay US$2.5 million and reform its hiring practices.[11][12]
  • González v. Abercrombie & Fitch – in 2004, he represented the EEOC in a lawsuit against retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.[11] The company was accused of discriminating against African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women by preferentially offering floor sales positions and store management positions to white males.[13] The company agreed to a settlement of the class-action suit.[14][15][16]
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores – he represented Abercrombie & Fitch in a lawsuit filed in 2009 in U.S. District Court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.[17] In June 2008, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf, who wears a hijab due to her religious beliefs, applied for a sales position at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She claimed the manager told her the headscarf violates the store's "Look Policy".[18] The United States Supreme Court ruled 8–1 against the company in 2015.[19][20]
  • In 2016, Dreiband defended the University of North Carolina in its choice to abide by the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act that had been passed earlier that year. The statewide law disallowed people from using public bathrooms corresponding to the gender with which they identify; it was repealed in March 2017.[21]

Controversies

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On June 10, 2020, Dreiband sent a letter to Montgomery County Maryland executives expressing First Amendment concerns regarding county orders. The letter urges County Executive Elrich and the County Council to ensure that the county's executive orders and enforcement of them respect both the right of residents to assemble and practice their faith. But the letter was based on flawed reporting, which the Justice Department has failed to publicly correct.

The DOJ was trying to make a point about a Black Lives Matter protest organized by high school students on the grounds of the Connie Morella Library in Bethesda on June 2. Dreiband's letter informed County officials that if they were going to support “hundreds of people packed into a library” for a protest, they should be equally supportive of people gathering to worship during the pandemic. But the Connie Morella Library was closed.[22]

Photos captured by local ABC-affiliate WJLA show that the protest was in the library's parking lot. A makeshift lectern for the rally was set up in front of the library's doors, and hundreds of attendees can be seen in photos seated on the ground outside the library. Asked about the discrepancy, a Justice Department spokesperson acknowledged to HuffPost that local Fox News affiliate WTTG had gotten the facts wrong in its story about the protest, though the station has since corrected its report.

The DOJ's original letter containing the claim that hundreds of people packed into the library could still be found on the department's website.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "PN288 - Nomination of Eric S. Dreiband for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 108th Congress (2003-2004)". www.congress.gov. July 31, 2003. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "PN1402 - Nomination of Ronald S. Cooper for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 109th Congress (2005-2006)". www.congress.gov. July 26, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "Eric Dreiband confirmed as Assistant AG of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division". www.jonesday.com. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. ^ "PN729 — Eric S. Dreiband — Department of Justice". Congress.gov. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  5. ^ "UPDATE: Anti-gay lawyer confirmed as head of Justice Department's Civil Rights Division". Metro Weekly. October 11, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence". The New York Times. January 17, 2021. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021.
  7. ^ Dreiband, Eric. Princeton University. Department of History (ed.). "1961: John Kennedy and the Origins of American Involvement in Vietnam". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ "Meeting of 7-15-09 Bio of Dreiband". www1.eeoc.gov. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Cohen, Kelly (June 29, 2017). "White House nominates DC labor lawyer to head civil rights division". Washington Examiner. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  10. ^ Reinhard, Beth (May 1, 2017). "White House Considers Former EEOC Lawyer for Civil-Rights Post". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Front-runner to lead Justice Department civil rights defended Abercrombie in Supreme Court discrimination case". washingtonpost.com. May 8, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  12. ^ "Buddig settles discrimination suit". nwitimes.com. September 9, 2004. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  13. ^ "$40 Million Paid to Class Members in December 2005 in Abercrombie & Fitch Discrimination Lawsuit Settlement". Lieff Cabraser. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007.
  14. ^ "National Clothing Retailer Must Pay For Discrimination" The Defender. Winter 2005, 1. A publication of the NAACP LDF. Description of the settlement of Gonzalez.
  15. ^ Greenhouse, Steven (November 17, 2004). "Abercrombie & Fitch Bias Case Is Settled". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  16. ^ "Abercrombie & Fitch Discrimination Lawsuit Settlement Website". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  17. ^ "Complaint, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc" (PDF). PacerMonitor. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  18. ^ Gregory, Sean (September 23, 2009). "Abercrombie Faces a Muslim-Headscarf Lawsuit". Time. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  19. ^ "Supreme Court To Hear Case Of Muslim Who Says Abercrombie & Fitch Denied Her Job Because Of Hijab". The Huffington Post. February 19, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  20. ^ de Vogue, Ariane (June 1, 2015). "SCOTUS rules in favor of Muslim woman in suit against Abercrombie and Fitch over head covering". CNN. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  21. ^ Deena Zaru (July 2017). "Civil rights activists alarmed by Trump's DOJ pick". CNN. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  22. ^ "DOJ Spreads Bogus Claim About Maryland Protest In Letter Defending Religious Liberty". HuffPost. June 12, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband Sends Letter to Montgomery County Maryland Executives Expressing First Amendment Concerns Regarding County Orders". DOJ. June 11, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
[edit]
Legal offices
Preceded by
Clifford Gregory Stewart
 General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
2003–2005 		Succeeded by
Ronald S. Cooper
Preceded by United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division
2018–2021 		Succeeded by
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