A janitorial contractor has sued to challenge the enforcement process of the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas is expected to make an initial ruling by the end of the month.
DOL’s administrative enforcement process would change significantly if ABM Industry Groups succeeds in getting the court to stop OFCCP from enforcing the equal opportunity and antidiscrimination provisions of Executive Order 11246 before DOL’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
ABM alleges that OFCCP’s administrative enforcement regime—under which DOL’s ALJs, who belong to the executive branch, issue decisions—violates the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine by giving DOL the power to prosecute and adjudicate in the same proceeding. ABM also claims that this process deprives it of its right to a jury trial, as guaranteed by the Seventh Amendment and reinforced by a recent Supreme Court decision.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.