Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs


The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP is responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the Federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondiscrimination. This mission is based on the underlying principle that employment opportunities generated by Federal dollars should be available to all Americans on an equitable and fair basis.

Statutes and Executive Orders

OFCCP administers and enforces three equal employment opportunity laws: Executive Order 11246, as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. § 4212. Collectively, these laws make it illegal for contractors and subcontractors doing business with the federal government to discriminate in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. In addition, contractors and subcontractors are prohibited from discriminating against applicants or employees because they inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or that of others, subject to certain limitations. Its regulations can be found at CFR Title 41 Chapter 60: Public Contracts and Property Management.

Agency history

OFCCP, as it is today, was created in 1978 with Executive Order 12086 by President Jimmy Carter through a consolidation of all the Affirmative Action enforcement responsibilities at each federal agency with Executive Order 11246 to the United States Secretary of Labor.
The origins of the agency trace back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and World War II when he signed Executive Order 8802, preventing discrimination based on race by government contractors.
In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the President’s Committee on Government Contracts with Executive Order 10479. The order was a follow-up to Executive Order 10308 signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1951 establishing the anti-discrimination Committee on Government Contract Compliance.
In 1961 President Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925 which created the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. This called for people to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are hired and employees are treated during employment without regard to race, creed, color or national origin.
On September 24, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed EO 11246 transferring responsibility for supervising and coordinating the Federal Contract Compliance from the President’s Committee to the Secretary of Labor who established the Office of Federal Contract Compliance.
Executive Order 11375 by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967 added sex discrimination to OFCCP’s mandate. In 1975 the name was changed from OFCC to OFCCP by President Gerald Ford. This reflected the addition of the responsibility to enforce laws prohibiting discrimination against the disabled and veterans.
The agency has recently helped develop new applicant and record keeping regulations covering internet applicants.

Organization

There are six Regional Offices: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific, Southeast, and Southwest and Rocky Mountain.
In the national office there are three divisions: Management & Administrative, Policy and Program Development, and Program Operations.

Constituency groups