The Department of Labor (DOL), under the Biden Administration, has stepped up anti-bias enforcement against government contractors. In doing so, the DOL, through its investigators, is conducting more thorough audits with more detailed questions and is engaging in more rigorous follow-up inquiries with companies. Further, the DOL has placed an emphasis on combatting pay discrimination. 

Currently, the Biden Administration has not filed any legal actions against federal contractors. By comparison, the Obama Administration was active in filing lawsuits, filing against six different companies just one week before President Trump took office. The Trump Administration’s enforcement strategy was focused on proactive compliance to help businesses and had less frequent in-depth audits.

The director for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Jenny Yang, has indicated that pay equity is a top priority. She stated that the OFCCP “look[s] forward to working with contractors to ensure they have the policies and practices in place to expand economic opportunity for underrepresented workers.” Over the past year, the OFCCP has settled compensation discrimination cases with Google, JPMorgan Chase, and Deloitte.

Roetzel will continue to monitor developments in this area.