The New York Times: Trump Gutted Civil Rights Agency, Stifling U.S. Scrutiny of Workplace Bias

July 19. 2026

Policy Director & Deputy Legal Director Jessica Ramey Stender is featured in a New York Times article about the Trump Administration’s gutting of the Dept. of Labor’s Office for Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which for 60 years had held federal contractors accountable for discrimination or harassment. Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. workers are employed by federal contractors, or approximately 34 million people.

“It proactively audited federal contractors before workers even knew they were being discriminated against,” said Jessica Stender, the policy director at Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit legal organization that represents workers. “Now that oversight is gone.”

Read the article.