Merging EEOC and OFCCP Would Create Big Problems For Business

Per Politico Pro, the Trump administration proposal to merge the EEOC and the OFCCP into one agency is creating some strange bedfellows in the business community.  Politico is reporting that the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund today in criticizing President Donald Trump’s proposal to merge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

It was a moment of strange bedfellows: Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) praised Camille Olson, an attorney representing the Chamber, for criticizing part of Trump’s budget proposal to combine EEOC and OFCCP into one agency to tackle workplace discrimination. Olson spoke against Trump’s proposal during a hearing today, saying the two agencies have different missions — the OFCCP to advocate for affirmative action policies, and the EEOC to pursue discrimination claims.

Todd Cox, director of policy for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, agreed, saying: “We would also oppose that and are very concerned about it.”

“When you have the NAACP and the Chamber of Commerce criticizing the same initiative, it probably shouldn’t go through,” Scott told POLITICO after the hearing, adding that the agencies have “totally different missions.”

Regarding Trump’s paid leave proposal, Scott said he hadn’t seen the details but is willing to work with the White House.

“I think there were problems with their proposal, but it’s something obviously we could work on,” Scott said. “I don’t remember the details of it, I just briefly saw there was some controversy.”

One of Scott’s aides said his office is still reviewing the paid leave proposal and would have more detailed feedback shortly.

Based on a proposal from the Heritage Foundation aimed at creating greater efficiency in government, the idea has not been well received thus far in the business community.