Patricia Shiu took the helm of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) this week. The OFCCP is the DOL sub-agency charged with administering and enforcing three laws that prohibit discrimination and require federal contractors and subcontractors to implement affirmative action plans. Shiu was named as the new OFCCP director in August.  Her current position within the DOL does not require a Senate confirmation. However, when the DOL’s Employment Standards Administration (ESA) – the umbrella agency within the DOL that encompasses the OFCCP along with three other sub agencies – is abolished, Shiu will report directly to the Secretary of Labor. Had Shiu taken her job after the dissolution of the ESA, she would likely have had to face a formal Senate confirmation process. At this point, it is unclear what title Shiu will hold after the ESA’s dissolution.

Prior to taking the job at the OFCCP, Shiu served as the Vice President for Programs at the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC) in San Francisco. Shiu has also worked as the director of the Society’s Work and Family Project, and lobbied for the passage of California’s Family Rights Act and its regulations. In 1993, former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley appointed Shiu to the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Reviewing Authority. In addition, Shiu is a former member of NELA’s Executive Board, and served as one of its vice presidents.

Shiu’s advocacy of family leave and employment anti-discrimination issues makes it likely that she will champion the pending Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12, S. 182), which, among other things, would reinstate the OFCCP’s discarded Equal Opportunity survey. The EO survey allowed the agency to gather certain employment information from federal contractors and subcontractors related to their Affirmative Action Programs, personnel activity and compensation. The legislation also provides the OFCCP with additional investigative methodologies to use in performing compensation analysis. As head of the OFCCP, Shiu will also be responsible for hiring and training a projected 200 new compliance officers.