Department of Labor Budget Request
Date: 6/11/09
Title: Department of Labor Budget Request
We are providing this compliance update to let you know, if approved, how the DOL FY2010 budget will affect you.
Whether you are a large or small company; government contractor or not; you are impacted by one of the divisions within the Department of Labor, Employment Standard Division. For this compliance update, we are only addressing the Wage and Hour Division and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Division. We have also identified below the impact of the budget on two other DOL divisions working towards improving the rights and opportunities for people with disabilities and veterans.
"The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) administers and enforces laws that protect the basic rights of workers, including minimum wage and hour standards, workers' compensation programs, equal employment opportunity, and affirmative action programs for Federal contract employees, as well as laws that protects worker's rights as union members. ESA was created in 1971 as the Workplace Standards Administration and renamed in 1972".
Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - addresses labor standards compliance, including minimum wage, overtime, and child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
An increase of $35 million will enable the WHD to strengthen its enforcement of low-wage and vulnerable workers. If DOL gets its way, it will be able to increase its staff by 288 full time employees, most of whom will be investigators and inspectors. The additional staff will enable the program to conduct more targeted investigations, provide additional compliance assistance, and ensure that cases effectively maximize compliance on behalf of the greatest number of workers.
During FY 2008, WHD employed 731 investigators who complieted 28,200 compliance actions and 1,790 compliance assistance events. WHD collected more than $185,200,000 in back wages for more than 228,000 workers nationwide on cases concluded in FY 2008.
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) - enforces equal employment, affirmative action, and non-discrimination among federal contractors.
An increase of $23.6 million, including an additional 213 full time employees, will be directed toward strengthening the OFCCP' overall enforcement efforts. The additional staff will be scattered among regions and will be front-line investigators. The staff request for OFCCP for FY 2010 is 798 FTE compared to 585 FTE in FY 2009.
The significant percentage of the budget will support enforcement and outreach efforts related to compensation. OFCCP will place additional emphasis on outreach and training, as well as improving the various approaches and investigative techniques used to evaluate compensation. The budget request also includes $2 million to develop a new case management system. The budget increases demonstrate the government's commitment to the monitoring and compliance of equal opportunity and affirmative action provisions of federal contracts.
Impact of Budget on Disability and Veteran Concerns:
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) - ODEP develops policy and fosters its implementation to reduce barriers to employment with people disabilities. The 2010 budget requests $37,031,000, a 39% increase of the 2009 level. The FY 2010 request will enable ODEP to undertake a new $10 million initiative that will focus on working with One-Stops, employers, labor-management partnerships, labor unions, and other stakeholders to improve the employment process for individuals with diabilities utilizing pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and career-related comunity service opportunities. The agency develops policy that: (1) expands access to service systems (such as employment and training, education, vocational rehabilitation); (2) addresses employer needs for recruiting, hiring, and retaining job seekers and workers with disabilities; and (3) increases the availability and accessibility of employment-related supports (such as health care and mental health support, transportation, and assistive technology).
Veteran's Employment and Training Service (VETS) - VETS, established in 1981, provides veterans and transitioning service members with the resources and services to succeed in the civilian workforce by maximizing their employment opportunities, protecting their employment rights and meeting labor market demands with qualified veterans. VETS administers the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). VETS protects the reemployment and employment rights of veterans and member of the National Guard and Reserve Forces under the provisions of USERRA so that they can serve on active duty without harm to their employment status. VETS budget request will not add personnel and will be directed to programs and services.
In FY 2007, VETS resolved 1,500 USERRA compliants, and contacted 122,514 veterans in connection with their rights under USERRA. The agency also endeavors to ensure compliance with veterans' preference requirements for Federal employment. In FY 007, VETS opened 496 veterans' preference cases.
Bottom Line: More money means more resources to conduct inspections, investigators and audits.
The foregoing has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of Workplace Dynamics LLC. It is not meant to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter and should not be acted upon without professional counsel.