Washington, D.C. — Today, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will announce that it is upending standards designed to promote equitable compensation among federal contractors. Under the Trump administration’s policy, employers would be able to decide how their employees should be categorized and analyzed for purposes of fair pay investigations by the government. CAP Senior Fellow Jocelyn Frye issued the following statement in advance of today’s announcement:
Pay discrimination has no place in the workplace, but it remains a stubborn presence that depresses women’s wages, undermines families’ financial security, and hurts our economy. Ensuring equal pay for women and men does not happen by waiving a magic wand—it requires an unflinching commitment to enforcing the law vigorously with every tool available. Unfortunately, this administration is proving that it is not up to that very important task.
Once again, the Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that equal pay is not a priority. In weakening the standards used to analyze the pay practices of federal contractors, this move sends a clear message that the administration will be hands off when it comes to taking a proactive role in analyzing whether federal contractors are in compliance with the law.
This is the latest action by the administration to roll back progress on pay equity. Past actions include:
- Rescinding the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, which would have helped workers ensure that their paychecks accurately reflected their hours.
- Halting implementation of an Obama-era measure that would have collected pay data from employers to better evaluate their pay practices.
Related CAP resources on strategies to ensure pay equity:
For further information or to connect with a policy expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at [email protected] or 202.741.6292.