Several months ago, Oracle Corporation took the unusual step of suing the Department of Labor (DOL) over the administrative enforcement and adjudication regime used by DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). If you were looking for a sober recanting of the legal issues at stake, however, recent media reports would disappoint, as they have largely focused on a false narrative suggesting the litigation is designed to “gut” or “cripple” OFCCP’s enforcement of federal nondiscrimination laws.
Perhaps not surprisingly, this high-profile litigation has drawn the attention of – and participation in various forms by – numerous outside stakeholders, including labor unions, civil rights groups, former Obama and Clinton Administration officials, business groups, free enterprise groups, and two different groups of states. With all of these additional parties adding their voices to the litigation, and not always in the most legally enlightening way, we thought it would be helpful to cut through the rhetoric and offer a straightforward summary of Oracle’s challenge, what it does and doesn’t mean, the government’s response, and how some of the outside groups that have weighed in are attempting to influence the litigation.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.