President Donald Trump wants to shift enforcement of veteran anti-discrimination rules for contractors to a Labor Department subagency that’s ill-equipped to handle that work, attorneys say.
The White House recently unveiled a proposal to shutter the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and transfer its oversight of contractors’ affirmative action obligations for veterans under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act to the US Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.
The move to shut down the OFCCP was long-sought by conservative groups and some businesses who argued that the contractor watchdog had no congressional authority to operate and that most of its work was already covered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On his first day in office, the president signed an action canceling the 1965 executive order establishing the OFCCP, setting in motion the agency’s dismantling.
Attorneys representing federal contractors say the DOL’s VETS office doesn’t have the staff, experience conducting proactive audits, or familiarization with affirmative action cases to replace the OFCCP. The office has also traditionally worked with individual veterans, not employers.
“They have no subject matter expertise, they have no auditors, and I think it’s potentially a real blow to veterans and ensuring non-discrimination and the affirmative action of veterans in federal contractors. So I think it could be a real problem,” said David...
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