Washington Legal Foundation Joins Business Groups and Nonprofits to rein in the DOL’s Enforcement Capabilities

Case arises out of the suit by Oracle against the DOL

Joining in the coalition of business groups and nonprofits, the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) is urging the federal district court to invalidate the DOL’s unusual “regime in trying discrimination claims against government contractors.”  The WLF Vice President of Litigation, Cory Andrews said “the question raised by the OFCCP’s actions isn’t whether discrimination claims should be tried and adjudicated; they should be. The question is by whom and under what lawful standard.”

Under the current enforcement system, discrimination claims against government contractors are not prosecuted in federal court. Instead, they are handled by the OFCCP who assumes the right to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate discrimination.

The amicus brief articulates that no federal law authorizes the OFCCP’s enforcement regime and states that Congress has expressly declined to give agencies, such as EEOC, the broad and unfettered authority to handle the entire legal process in-house.