George Salem

During the course of his career, George has negotiated some of the most significant settlements in the field of labor law, among them the resolution of all pending ERISA cases against the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund, the E.O. 11246 discrimination case against Harris Trust and Savings Bank, and several major OSHA and FLSA settlements, including the major FLSA settlement involving Food Lion.

On behalf of various Middle East clients, George headed the legal teams that handled the acquisitions of major assets, including refineries in the Middle East. In addition, he headed the legal team that successfully brought suit against the Department of Treasury on behalf of the owners of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that was destroyed by the US Navy.

George is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in American Politics, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, The International Who's Who of Management Labour and Employment Lawyers, Chambers USA, Washington Super Lawyers and Corporate Counsel Super Lawyers, and The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, he was named by The National Law Journal as one of the top 26 labor lawyers in the United States. 

In 1992 George received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The award is presented annually to Americans of diverse origins for their outstanding contributions to their own ethnic groups and to American society.

From 1990 – 2004, George was a partner at the law firm of an international law firm, where he headed that firm's Middle East and USDOL practices.

From 1985 to 1989, George served as the Solicitor of Labor. As the US Department of Labor’s chief legal officer, he was responsible for enforcing more than 130 laws that regulate the nation's workplace, including those guaranteeing minimum wage through the Fair Labor Standards Act, ensuring occupational safety and health pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and maintaining pension security under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. George headed a staff of 850 lawyers and support staff in 13 national offices and 16 regional and sub-regional offices around the country.

George played key roles in the Reagan-Bush 1984, Bush-Quayle 1988, and Bush-Cheney 2000 campaigns. In addition, he served as a member of the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and as chairman of the Tripartite Advisory Panel on International Labor Standards, the legal arm of the President's Committee on the International Labor Organization. On behalf of the Bush Administration, George served as an official observer to the Palestinian elections held in February 2005, and also as President George W. Bush’s representative to the funeral of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

George co-founded the Arab American Institute in 1985 and currently serves as its chairman, and has served as treasurer of United Palestinian Appeal, Inc. since 1982. He is a past president of the National Association of Arab Americans and has served on the board of directors of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 2003 he was named to the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy’s Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim World, which was assembled at the request of Congress to study the State Department’s public diplomacy efforts in these regions. He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.