Michele Hodge
As the Acting Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Michele Hodge leads a staff of professionals around the country dedicated to protecting workers, promoting diversity, and enforcing the law. She concurrently serves as the career Deputy Director and implements the agency’s operational goals, manages OFCCP’s budget, and oversees all human capital decision-making. Ms. Hodge has 39 years of exemplary civil rights and nondiscrimination enforcement experience with OFCCP, starting with her first role as a Compliance Officer in the New Jersey District Office. For more than a decade, she has been a member of the Senior Executive Service, expertly administering OFCCP programs.
Ms. Hodge has devoted her career to remedying discrimination and making victims whole. As the Acting Director, Ms. Hodge plays an instrumental role in achieving the agency’s priorities. She guides the agency’s operations, implementing initiatives to identify strong systemic discrimination cases earlier, streamline compliance evaluation procedures, and align quality audit measures with enforcement priorities. Ms. Hodge collaborates with leaders across the Department and the federal government and engages a variety of stakeholders to maximize OFCCP’s enforcement activities.
Ms. Hodge is a highly regarded construction enforcement expert. Before joining headquarters, she was the OFCCP Regional Director in the Mid-Atlantic Region, negotiating the resolution of the agency’s most significant construction discrimination cases that resulted in unprecedented monetary relief and increased employment opportunities for women and people of color. Her expertise is proving invaluable as OFCCP strengthens its enforcement efforts on construction projects to promote an inclusive recovery as our nation makes historic infrastructure investments. Ms. Hodge supports the Department of Labor’s Good Jobs Initiative by providing ideas and technical assistance to federal agencies to promote equity in federal contracting. Under her direction, OFCCP launched the Mega Construction Project Program. Through this Program, OFCCP will play a key role in expanding access to good jobs in the construction trades on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act-funded projects.
Under Ms. Hodge’s leadership, OFCCP has enhanced its neutral scheduling process to focus resources on reviewing contractors with greater risk of noncompliance, launched a contractor portal that requires certification of timely compliance with Affirmative Action Program requirements, and implemented a new approach to construction reviews that expands engagement with unions and worker advocates.
Ms. Hodge continues to have an extraordinary impact on OFCCP’s programs and the workers and job seekers that benefit from the agency’s work.