Workers Rights Groups Respond to Dismantling of Federal Civil Rights Watchdog

Washington, DC ( April 17) — Last night, the Department of Labor placed hundreds of staff from its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs on administrative leave, undermining decades of progress by a civil rights enforcement agency that serves as a watchdog over federal contractors.

A group of national civil rights and workers organizations condemned the staffing cuts to the agency, which will leave employees nationwide more vulnerable than ever to discrimination.

“Having already gutted OFCCP’s work to promote equal opportunity for women, people of color, and other historically oppressed communities, the Trump administration is now making cuts that will undermine decades of progress that expanded opportunity for disabled workers and veterans, which led to historic high employment levels for these communities. This will have dire consequences for our nation’s workers, including those who already experience high rates of discrimination and barriers to gaining, keeping, and advancing in employment. The Administration’s broad assault on fundamental civil rights protections will be felt across every industry and workplace,” the group said in a statement. 

The response was issued by the National Women’s Law Center, American Association of People with Disabilities, Equal Rights Advocates, the National Employment Law Project, the National Partnership for Women and Families, the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

“Our nation made a fundamental promise in adopting our civil rights laws to address widespread discrimination and expand opportunity for all workers. By gutting OFCCP and other civil rights enforcement agencies, the Trump administration is dismantling the scaffolding that makes our civil rights laws work. But we refuse to go backwards, and we will continue to fight for the rights of all workers to be free from discrimination,” the organizations said.

Read the group’s full response and statement by the organizations here.