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New OFCCP Director Named

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Patricia Shiu is the Obama Administration’s choice to be the next Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.  For the past several years, Ms. Shiu has been the Vice President of Programs at the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco’s Employment Law Center. Since joining the Center in 1983, Ms. Shiu, an attorney, has focused primarily on employment discrimination cases, particularly those involving race, gender, disability and sexual orientation discrimination.

During the Clinton Administration, Ms. Shiu served on the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Reviewing Authority.  She also is a former vice president and board member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, a plaintiff-side employment attorneys group. 

The Department of Labor expects Ms. Shiu to start in her new post as OFCCP Director in September.  In addition, effective November 8, 2009, the OFCCP Director position will report directly to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis under a reorganization plan that eliminates the Employment Standards Administration within the Department of Labor, to which the OFCCP Director currently reports. 

While it is unclear what specific changes Ms. Shiu may bring to the Agency, her background indicates she is an aggressive advocate for the equal employment opportunity rights of minorities, females and the disabled.

If you have any questions about affirmative action compliance issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney in the Affirmative Action and OFCCP Diversity Planning practice group.