On May 7, 2009, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis unveiled the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget, which will run from 1 October 2009 through 30 September 2010. Under the requested $104.5 billion budget, the DOL plans to hire nearly 1,000 new employees, including about 670 investigators, with a goal toward restoring staffing to FY 2001 levels.

According to the FY 2010 Department of Labor Budget in Brief, funding for Federal Contractor and EEO Standards Enforcement will be increased to $109,521,000, a $25,600,000 increase over the FY 2009 budget. Personnel levels in the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will rise to 798 full-time equivalent employees (FTE), an increase of 213 FTE over FY 2008 and 2009 staffing levels. The Budget in Brief states, "The additional FTE will support enforcement and outreach efforts related to compensation."

Due to the complexities of new procedures, the OFCCP "needs to place additional emphasis on outreach and training, as well as improving the various approaches and investigative techniques used to evaluate compensation." The funding and personnel increases will "amplify enforcement activities by funding external experts to verify OFCCP's allegations and assessments to solidify its commitment to strong enforcement."

The OFCCP falls under DOL's Employment Standards Administration, which administers and enforces worker protection laws, including affirmative action programs of Federal contractors. In FY 2008, OFCCP marked its fourth consecutive year in posting record enforcement numbers, bringing in a total of $67,510,892 in financial settlements for a record 24,508 workers based on claims of unlawful employment discrimination.

Maly Consulting LLC will continue to monitor and keep you informed about the changing face of affirmative action employment and compensation enforcement initiatives.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to direct your affirmative action and compensation enforcement questions or concerns to any of the Maly Consulting staff.