In an unexpected, but much awaited move, it is anticipated Craig Leen will be named as the new head of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”).  While the Department of Labor has not formally confirmed or commented on this development, Leen’s appointment would come more than a year after Patricia Shiu departed the position in November 2016.  Since that time, Tom Dowd has held the position of interim Director at OFCCP.

Craig Leen currently serves as the City Attorney for Coral Gables, Florida.  During his tenure as the city’s top attorney, Leen reportedly “gained national attention for Coral Gables and its propensity to sue high-profile corporations and use the city’s legal muscle to pursue critics.”  In additional to his position with the City, Leen has also been an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law where Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, to whom Leen would report, was Dean.

The City of Coral Gables’ biography of Lean notes he earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 2000, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1997, where he double majored in Government and Economics.
Little is known about Leen’s position on OFCCP regulations, policies and practices or his intended direction for the Agency.  We will report any updates or insights as soon as we learn them so stay tuned for the latest developments. . .