Director Yang outlines priorities for OFCCP

Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will have "unique and powerful" authority to address systemic racism and pay discrimination and promote proactive compliance among federal contractors, according to the agency's new director, Jenny Yang.

Yang, who served as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) chair under the Obama administration, has identified pay equity as the OFCCP's top priority in several recent interviews (see "President Biden establishes Gender Policy Council" on page 3). She says federal contractors have a "powerful opportunity to make substantial progress in ensuring equity for all workers."

Yang hasn't yet provided specifics on what program changes the OFCCP will make, adding she is waiting for Marty Walsh, the nominee for DOL secretary, to be confirmed. At the EEOC, however, she rolled out the pay data collection program known as the EEO-1 Report Component 2, and she is expected to build on those efforts at the OFCCP.

Yang plans to work closely with the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce workplace antidiscrimination laws and advance the Biden administration's commitment to gender and race equity.

While Yang indicated she wants to work closely with federal contractors, she is clearly focused on strengthening the OFCCP's enforcement focus on systemic race and gender discrimination with a special interest on pay equity.

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