Biden’s infrastructure plan includes increased monies for DOL enforcement

Buried in President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan is a proposal to increase funding to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) workforce enforcement agencies. The infrastructure plan would increase the annual funding for DOL by 14 percent. The “skinny budget,” which was sent to Congress on April 8, would provide $2.1 billion for DOL worker protection agencies such as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the Wage & Hour Division (WHD). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) noted those agencies have lost “14 percent of their staff, limiting DOL’s ability to perform inspections and conduct investigations.” The funding document states it would boost efforts to investigate misclassification of workers as independent contractors and would restore “resources to oversee and enforce the equal employment obligations of Federal contractors.”

In response to the announcement of additional funds, OFCCP announced in a statement it stands ready “to advance President Biden’s commitment to equity by ensuring that federal contractors remove barriers to participation in our economy, including jobs generated under the American Jobs Plan. . . . As we rebuild our economy, DOL is committed to assisting contractors in meeting their important obligations and fully enforcing civil rights laws to ensure equal opportunity for all.”

Contractor verification portal interface appears on OFCCP website