During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) spoke about the Trump Administration’s actions towards the Department of Labor.
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00:00Thank you. Ms. Frankel. Thank you, sir. Good morning. Thank you. Welcome. Congratulations on your new appointment. I just want to start off by saying it's astonishing that President Trump is, while blatantly disregarding the priorities set forth by Congress in our appropriations bill, is still sending cabinet secretaries to request funding.
00:24But with that said, all across the country, working people have long relied on the U.S. Department of Labor to safeguard their paychecks, their safety, and their dignity, and they expect the government to stand with them, not sell them out.
00:39But under Donald Trump, with Elon Musk wielding his chainsaw through the lives of dedicated public servants and hardworking Americans through his Doge Efficiency Group, we're witnessing the deliberate dismantling of one of the most critical lifelines for the American workers, and that's the Department of Labor.
00:59And especially egregious, at this very moment, the Trump administration, through your department, is orchestrating targeted attacks on the fundamental right to fair treatment in the workplace with the ridiculous excuse that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are woke, whatever that even means. No clue.
01:19And the damage is profound. And no, it is more evident in the gutting of the Office of the Federal Contract Compliance Programs. That's a lot of words, OFCCP.
01:33The federal government pays private contractors over $600 billion, and 20% of our workforce is employed by these companies. That's more than 33 million workers.
01:46And for 60 years, the OFCCP has ensured that these companies don't violate federal law protecting discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, as well as certain veterans and people with disabilities.
02:02So that means a company can't say, I'm not going to hire you because you're black, or you're gay, or you're a Jew, or you're Asian.
02:08And public companies were required when they received this public money, the private companies, to auditing for compliance with anti-discrimination law.
02:20And as a result, the OFCCP collected owed wages for workers who had been discriminated against or faced illegal pay disparities and directed non-compliant companies to implement correct plans.
02:33They collected over $260 million just in the last 10 years, but then more important, they sent a message, obey the law.
02:43With one stroke of the pen, Donald Trump ordered OFCCP to cease its essential functions, and also now it's threatening the non-profits, the businesses, with investigations if they are investing in fairness and inclusion.
02:59Sends a message to companies, you receive your federal money, go ahead, discriminate, we have your back.
03:08So I have a question.
03:11In the past several years, under Biden, Lincoln was compelled to pay $1.8 million to over 600 women for discriminatory pay practices.
03:24Google paid $3.8 million to more than 5,500 women and Asian applicants due to hiring and pay discrimination.
03:33Cisco Systems agreed to $4.75 million set a month after the audit revealed that women, black, and Latino employees were paid less than their white male counterparts in similar roles.
03:44Intel Corporation settled for $5 million following allegations of systematic pay discrimination against female African-American and Hispanic employees.
03:54And Bank of America was ordered to pay $2.2 million to over 1,000 black applicants for discriminatory hiring practices.
04:02And I could give you many more examples.
04:04These were systematic violations that were uncovered through OFCCP, their audits, and their proactive enforcement.
04:14My question to you today, isn't it not true that your department could not do that today?
04:22That is not true.
04:23We are ensuring that OFCCP fulfills its statutory requirements.
04:28And no discrimination will be tolerated under this nation's laws.
04:31That I will fully enforce.
04:32I'm not familiar with all those individual cases that you mentioned.
04:35I know that you're trying to lay out a plan.
04:38But I'm telling you, under the Department of Labor, we will fulfill our statutory requirements under the OFCCP.
04:43What I suggest is that, and with all due respect, because you didn't sign this executive order, but I suggest you read that executive order.
04:52Because that executive order would not allow the Department of Labor to take any of these actions against any of these companies.
05:01And just to sum it up, under Donald Trump, the Department of Law, Department of Labor, I should say the Department of Lawfulness, unlawfulness, no longer protects workers from civil rights violations.
05:15It's now, in my opinion, in the business of aiding and abetting discrimination by businesses that receive federal dollars.
05:23And that's over $600 billion of taxpayer monies.
05:28And with that, I yield back.
05:30Thank you, Congressman.
05:31Thank you, Congressman.