President Trump recently released two items of interest to this industry: 1) an Executive Order on March 13th directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to propose a plan with the assistance of each agency to reorganize the executive branch; and 2) a proposed budget on March 16th or Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Both of those documents propose improved efficiency and, more importantly, reduced budgets. Specifically, the President’s proposal includes a 20.7% budget cut to the Department of Labor (DOL); see table below.
While the President’s proposed budget does not specifically name the OFCCP within its potential cuts, with a 20.7% overall reduction to the DOL budget, we can only assume that cuts will come to the OFCCP as it’s an agency within the DOL. The proposal does discuss the strengthening of the military and assistance for Veterans; with that in mind, we can assume that VEVRRA will continue to be a focus going forward.
It is unknown how the budget will play out for the OFCCP without a Labor Secretary in place and with the Executive Order mandating a proposed plan for the reorganization of the executive branch. Historically, a budget reduction for OFCCP meant changes in a) staffing and b) travel funds, which impact enforcement activities. Hiring freezes mean no additional experts (statisticians, economists, I/O psychologists) for specific enforcement areas, and less money to spend on litigation; a staff reduction would mean fewer resources for day-to-day compliance review work. A reduced travel budget means fewer on-site reviews and less OFCCP participation in events such as conferences that would require more than local travel.
DCI will keep you informed of any new developments.
By Rosemary Cox, Senior Consultant at DCI Consulting Group
