By Mitchell Chamberlin
As of Monday, September 29, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has a new director. According to an internal memo sent by Catherine Eschbach to staff, Eschbach is transitioning from her role as OFCCP Director to Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She will be replaced by Ashley Romanias, a Senior Policy Advisor with the Department of Labor (DOL).
Prior to her tenure with DOL, which began in July of 2025, Romanias was an attorney at several law firms including Gibson Dunn, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP and Affiliates, and Hogan Lovells. She also served as Assistant Director, Executive Compensation at the Federal Housing Agency.
As Director, Eschbach leaves behind a quiet but complicated legacy at OFCCP. Her early actions at the agency reflected the Trump Administration’s desire to deprioritize and ultimately eliminate OFCCP, including significant staff layoffs amidst a halt of all enforcement activities. However, Eschbach also announced internally that the agency would begin reviewing data submitted to the agency by federal contractors in previously closed reviews and sent letters to federal contractors asking for information regarding how they have changed practices since the rescission of Executive Order 11246 via Executive Order 14173.
DCI will continue to monitor and provide updates as they occur.
