Punching In: OFCCP’s Last Few Staffers Receive New Assignments

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers.

Chairs on the Titanic|NELP Layoffs Hit

Rebecca Klar: The US Labor Department’s largely decimated contractor watchdog is undergoing a reorganization that moves field staff under a new branch and consolidates the policy division.

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Ashley Romanias informed staff of the changes in a recent email reviewed by Bloomberg Law. She also said position descriptions will be updated as needed to reflect the shuffle.

The restructuring will impact the limited remaining staff at the agency after most employees were transferred to new roles following President Donald Trump’s executive order last year that gutted the office’s power. Despite Trump’s initial budget allocating no money to the OFCCP, the congressionally-approved budget kept the agency afloat, potentially prompting the need to move a skeleton crew with more limited functions.

Romanias said the new plan “reflects a streamlined structure” and “capitalizes on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of existing staff.”

Most OFCCP workers were reassigned to new roles last year after a court blocked the administration’s attempt to conduct widespread layoffs. The agency’s remaining staff are only in its Southwest and Rocky Mountain region and national headquarters.

A DOL spokesperson said in a statement the reorganization “is an essential part of right-sizing OFCCP in order to fulfill its core statutory responsibilities while ending prior practices that promoted discriminatory DEI.”

“Our nation’s nondiscrimination laws will continue to be fully enforced by agencies with the appropriate authority,” the spokesperson said.

Shortly after his inauguration Trump rescinded Executive Order 11246, which established the bulk of the OFCCP’s power to audit companies over race and sex bias, as well as require affirmative action plans based on those protected categories. It was part of a series of orders aimed at dismantling or scrutinizing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs the administration deemed discriminatory.

The agency now only maintains its statutory functions under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, which police bias against disabled workers and veterans, respectively.

The reorganization will establish a Branch of Field Operations within the Division of Program Operations. Field staff will be reassigned to that new division.

The Division of Policy and Program Development will be consolidated by merging regulatory, legislative, policy, outreach, and help desk functions.

The grades, pay, and duty locations of employees won’t be impacted, according to the email.

Workers and supporters protest against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in front of the U.S. Department of Labor on February 05, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Photographer: Al Drago/Getty Images

George Weykamp: Mass layoffs and voluntary resignations have hit the National Employment Law Project’s workforce in a move that could dramatically reshape the worker advocacy group.

The cuts primarily affected the group’s programmatic staff, made up of subject matter experts whose jobs involved drafting amicus briefs and lobbying lawmakers for pro-labor legislation, according to the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, the parent union representing NELP employees. Roughly 60% of employees have left the group since January, the union said.

The massive staff reduction is likely to have ripple affects throughout courts, where the nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1969 is defending against the Trump administration’s pro-management agenda.

“NELP is as close to a full service workers’ rights policy shop as you could have ever found. Our mission was to help build a good jobs economy,” said Judy Conti, former government affairs director at NELP.

“At a time when low wage workers are more vulnerable and precarious than ever before, and at a time when the administration is going after them, NELP is just not there like it used to be to fight for these folks,” she said.

Divisions most affected by the layoffs and resignations include the Departments of Government Affairs, Immigrant Worker Justice, Fair Chance Hiring, Health and Safety, Climate Justice, and Worker Center Support, according to the union.

“It is unclear how signature NELP program areas, such as raising the minimum wage, can survive,” the union’s executive committee said in a statement.

The reductions underscore the difficulty of operating environments for non-profit and advocacy groups reeling from federal funding cuts and increased demand for services, according to a 2025 report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

NELP’s audited financial report showed that the advocacy organization took in only $6.2 million in revenue in 2024, compared with $13.1 million in expenses. The organization had been expecting a large grant from an institutional donor, but that fell through in January, the union said.

“The material change to our budget required difficult but decisive steps be taken,” A NELP spokesperson said in a statement. “Our focus remains on maintaining mission continuity and ensuring the organization’s long-term sustainability.”

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers, please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.