Rep. Brown, Sen. Murray Lead Members in Letter Urging Secretary Chavez-DeRemer to Abandon Plans to Dismantle OFCCP Amid Reports DOL Plans to Slash Staff By 90 Percent, Shutter Local Offices

40 Members call on Trump admin to reverse course on plans to dismantle agency charged with combating illegal employment discrimination ahead of April 14th “fork in the road” deadline 

Washington, D.C. — Representative Shontel Brown (D, OH-11) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led their colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer expressing concerns over reports of the Department’s plans to slash the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) capacity by 90 percent and close over 50 local offices. Last Friday, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer sent an email to OFCCP employees saying they have until today, Monday, April 14, to take the deferred resignation offer or be fired.  

For decades, OFCCP has investigated complaints from workers and reviewed federal contractors’ employment practices—safeguarding federal contract workers from various forms of discrimination, recovered back pay, negotiating job opportunities, and more. In Fiscal Year 2024, OFCCP recovered $22.5 million for 12,756 affected workers and negotiated 407 job opportunities for workers. 

In January, President Trump revoked Executive Order 11246, a 1965 Executive Order that gave the Department of Labor the authority to investigate and remedy prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and national origin by federal contractors, the agency remains responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws and equal employment requirements for workers with disabilities and veterans. Federal contract workers make up more than 20 percent of the entire U.S. labor force, making OFCCP a powerful force to prevent and remedy discrimination across the country. 

In February, Congresswoman Brown introduced legislation to codify Executive Order 11246 into law. Read more here. 

 

“Drastic cuts to staff and shuttered offices in our communities would leave workers vulnerable to discrimination. While Executive Order 11246 was revoked, the agency remains responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws and equal employment requirements for workers with disabilities and veterans. As of mid-February, the agency had 317 investigators. These investigators remain responsible for investigating thousands of contractor establishments that employ millions of workers. The estimated 36 million federal workers dispersed across the United States make investigators in regional and district offices critical for effective enforcement,” the Members wrote in their letter to Secretary Chavez-DeRemer. 

  

“The Department cannot abdicate its responsibility to workers. We urge you to abandon plans to dismantle OFCCP and reaffirm the Department’s commitment to protecting equal employment opportunities for federal contract workers,” the Members concluded. 

  

Joining Senator Murray and Representative Brown in sending the letter were U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) as well as U.S. Representatives Reps. Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Donald Beyer (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), André Carson (IN-07), Judy Chu (CA-28), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Danny Davis (IL-07), Cleo Fields (LA-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Summer Lee (PA-12), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12). 

  

The letter was endorsed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Partnership for Women and Families, and American Association of University Women. 

  

The text of the Members’ letter is available below and a PDF is HERE.  

  

Dear Secretary Chavez-DeRemer: 

  

We are deeply concerned by recent reports that the U.S. Department of Labor (The Department) plans to slash capacity at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) by 90 percent and shut down its more than 50 local offices.  Federal contract workers make up more than 20 percent of our nation’s workers and are spread across the country, making OFCCP a powerful force to prevent and remedy discrimination. We urge you to abandon these plans and instead uphold the Department’s responsibility to protect equal employment opportunities for federal contract workers.  

  

For decades, OFCCP has worked effectively to prevent and address unlawful discrimination by investigating individual complaints from workers and by proactively reviewing federal contractors’ employment practices. This unique power to proactively review whether employers were complying with the law allowed OFCCP to identify discrimination that might have otherwise gone unreported or undiscovered. Federal contract workers have benefited from OFCCP’s efforts to recover back pay, salary adjustments, and retroactive seniority on their behalf. In FY 2024, OFCCP recovered $22.5 million for 12,756 affected workers and negotiated 407 job opportunities for workers.   

  

Drastic cuts to staff and shuttered offices in our communities would leave workers vulnerable to discrimination. While Executive Order 11246 was revoked, the agency remains responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws and equal employment requirements for workers with disabilities and veterans. As of mid-February, the agency had 317 investigators.  These investigators remain responsible for investigating thousands of contractor establishments that employ millions of workers.  The estimated 36 million federal workers dispersed across the United States make investigators in regional and district offices critical for effective enforcement.  

  

Workers deserve to be treated fairly in all aspects of employment and cannot afford to miss out on pay, a promotion or the chance to be considered for a good paying job because of discrimination. Workers cannot afford to lose their anti-discrimination enforcers. 

  

The Department cannot abdicate its responsibility to workers. We urge you to abandon plans to dismantle OFCCP and reaffirm the Department’s commitment to protecting equal employment opportunities for federal contract workers.