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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202/219-8211
In a move to protect legal workers' opportunities and rights, two
federal agencies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today that will
help prevent national origin discrimination in the workplace while curtailing
the national problem of undocumented workers.
"Discrimination by federal contractors against legal workers will not be
tolerated," said Shirley Wilcher, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the OFCCP,
whose agency enforces laws like 11246 that prohibit discrimination in the
federal contracting community "While we must make sure that jobs are filled by
legal workers, we must also protect those workers so they are not suspect upon
application for a job simply because of their national origins."
The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
(OFCCP) and the Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel (OSC) entered
the agreement, which stems from an executive order President Clinton signed
last February 13 banning from federal contracts companies that use undocumented
workers. Equally, the Clinton executive order, buttressed by Executive Order
11246 -- one of the country's equal employment opportunity laws -- states that
the federal protections against unlawful employment discrimination based on
national origin are also critical objectives, and that the administration will
not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Executive Order 11246, signed by
President Lyndon Johnson, permits the OFCCP to debar any federal contractor
found discriminating against individuals on the basis of national origin. The
Clinton Executive Order, Number 12989, permits the Justice Department to debar
federal contractors that hire undocumented workers.
Today's announcement is the latest in the Labor and Justice Departments
combined effort to fight against illegal workers. The two departments have
continued to work together, but today marks the first agreement between the
OFCCP and the OSC.
The MOU, designed to facilitate coordination between the two agencies,
provides for:
- the appointment of agency liaisons to facilitate cooperation and
coordination of the agreement;
- a reciprocal training component to familiarize each agency with the
other's jurisdiction;
- the dissemination of educational materials to employers and the
public;
- the coordination of public outreach efforts.
"Today's memorandum will help strengthen our efforts to combat
immigration-related discrimination in the workplace," said Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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