Washington, D.C. — The Trump administration has put more than 36 million private sector workers at risk of unchecked discrimination and harassment. A new Center for American Progress column examines how the Trump administration’s recent actions to degrade the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is already harming workers and making it easier for well-connected corporations to skirt the law.
The OFCCP was created to enforce nondiscrimination provisions in federal contracting under the U.S. Department of Labor. Yet the Trump administration’s recent actions that revoke Executive Order 11246 make approximately 1 in 5 workers vulnerable to discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, and sex—both in the hiring process and at their jobs.
The Trump administration’s action to revoke EO 11246 ultimately puts the responsibility on the worker to determine if a discriminatory action has occurred and to file a complaint against the employer. Without the support and oversight of the OFCCP, the systemic discrimination that individuals face from hiring and pay practices is difficult to track and report to companies.
“Without the support of the OFCCP’s proactive compliance review and audit process, systemic discrimination is bound to continue in hiring or the workplace if there is not a correction. And without the OFCCP’s sanction authority, Americans’ tax dollars could be paying for illegal discrimination,” said Sara Estep, economist at the Center for American Progress and author of the column.
Read the column: “The Trump Administration Has Made 36 Million Workers Newly Vulnerable to Discrimination and Harassment” by Sara Estep
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].