Budget proposal presages narrowed future for DOL, NLRB, and elimination of OFCCP

The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed reducing its 2026 budget by nearly 35%, with significant cuts in personnel and core functions, such as job training and employment monitoring. A department that touched—one way or another—millions of Americans on a daily basis will be significantly diminished.

Programs erased, responsibilities shifted

The most widely noted of the cuts fully eliminates the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The budget proposal aligns with the current administration’s broader efforts to shut down the OFCCP and its authority to audit and investigate federal contractors for potential race and sex discrimination. This is in keeping with President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” and the administration’s animus against bringing statistically based disparate impact cases. In addition, the budget proposes transferring the OFCCP’s responsibilities under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) would take over enforcement duties under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).

The DOL budget plan also proposes eliminating the Job Corps and several other programs and shifting the Bureau of Labor Statistics to the Department of Commerce, raising concerns about the reliability of the most valued workforce data-gathering institution in government.

VETS, EEOC to receive little additional support to enforce VEVRAA