Ms. Hoffman is a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP where she has practiced labor and employment law for more than three decades. As counsel to management, Ms. Hoffman advises employers of all varieties and sizes, including Fortune 100 technology, hospitality, manufacturing and financial services companies. Ms. Hoffman’s practice encompasses strategies to prevent and resolve employment discrimination litigation, including pay equity and glass ceiling issues; OFCCP defense and affirmative action compliance, and advice about legally defensible diversity practices. She serves as Chair of the OFCCP Compliance, Affirmative Action & Diversity Consulting Practice Group within the Firm’s Labor & Employment Department.
Ms. Hoffman has extensive nation-wide experience defending clients in OFCCP audits of every type, every level of difficulty and in every OFCCP Region. Her work with clients encompasses the development of defensive strategies as well as consulting to improve client performance in these critical audits. Ms. Hoffman is a nationally recognized thought leader in the effective defense of significant OFCCP affected class allegations; in defending and resolving glass ceiling issues; in assessing, addressing and defending pay equity issues; and in using affirmative action plan results to map trends and spot issues for prevention of litigation. She has a deep understanding of applicant definition, tracking and screening issues, has extensive knowledge of tools and technologies used to assist employers in these activities and has successfully defended many employers challenged by class-wide or individual discrimination allegations related to their applicant screening and hiring practices.
In 1998 Ms. Hoffman founded the Firm’s OFCCP Compliance, Affirmative Action & Diversity Team, a group of more than two dozen attorneys and non-attorney professionals who specialize in high quality counsel and support for OFCCP matters. Under Ms. Hoffman’s leadership, the team represents hundreds of clients of all sizes and industries in matters involving OFCCP proceedings, including audits, enforcement actions, and other litigation. The team has developed and assisted in the implementation of thousands of affirmative action programs, including large-scale fully outsourced AAP development and administration projects.
Ms. Hoffman also provides counsel and advice on diversity best practices, metrics, progress, metrics, progress management and change management. Because of her nationwide practice, she has a broad knowledge of practical solutions for achieving diversity objectives. She has extensive experience counseling senior leaders about these issues and their intersection with employment discrimination law. In acknowledgement of her pre-eminence in this area, the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) selected Ms. Hoffman to serve on its Workplace Diversity Expertise Panel.
Ms. Hoffman receives national media coverage of her observations about issues involving employment-related issues, including OFCCP compliance, glass ceiling issues, pay equity and diversity. She frequently lectures on these topics and has also authored articles and book chapters. She also has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia College in Chicago, teaching a course in Legal Aspects of Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts.
