DOL Contractor Watchdog Plans to Cut Staff by 90%, Memo Says (1)

The Department of Labor is preparing to cut the workforce of its federal contractor watchdog by 90% after the Trump administration gutted much of the office’s enforcement power, according to a memo reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

The Feb. 25 memo from the acting director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to Acting Secretary of Labor Vincent Mincone said the OFCCP will shift from 55 offices to four, and reduce its 479 employees to 50. The changes will go along with the OFCCP’s reduced purview and create a “fiscally efficient” structure, the memo said.

The Washington Post was first to report on the memo.

Amid a broader attempt to downsize the federal workforce, Trump Jan. 21 revoked the executive order that established most of the OFCCP’s responsibilities to police federal contractors for anti-discrimination violations and affirmative action compliance. Tens of thousands of companies had government contracts worth a total of $769.5 billion in fiscal 2024, according to Bloomberg Government data.

The OFCCP under decades-old Executive Order 11246 enforced requirements that companies that do business with the government must evaluate their workforce for bias, and maintain affirmation action plans. It also conducted hiring bias and equal pay compliance audits of contractors under the order.

The office already halted audits and investigations in line with Trump’s executive action.

It will now “focus its mission” on enforcement of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, the memo stated. The OFCCP also monitors contractors for bias against disabled workers and veterans through these statutorily-mandated enforcement priorities, which were not affected by Trump’s rescission of EO 11246.

Under the plan outlined in the memo, the agency would maintain a “limited field presence” that is necessary for Section 503 and VEVRAA reviews.

A policy division, slated for five employees, would review and suggest changes to agency regulations “designed to reflect the removal of EO 11246" and shift focus on Section 503 and VEVRAA, according to the memo.

The OFCCP’s plan would eliminate the division of enforcement comprised of labor economists and statisticians, who were charged with conducting systemic statistical analyses previously required. Those “skillsets are no longer needed” for Section 503 and VEVRAA enforcement, the memo said.

The OFCCP seeks to use voluntary early retirement authority and the voluntarily separation incentive program to achieve its personnel cuts, according to the memo, which said the office is awaiting confirmation that 42 employees have participated thus far in the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program.

The office remains funded through March 14, and the workforce reduction will require additional funds to cover costs such as buyouts, annual leave lump sump payments, severance pay, relocation expenses, and office closures, the memo said.

The Labor Department didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment on the memo.