OFCCP Appoints a New Chief of Staff

Dariely Rodriquez comes to OFCCP with 14 years of experience in the civil rights arena

On February 1, 2021, Dariely Rodriguez joined the OFCCP at its Chief of Staff. Prior to joining the agency, from 2016 to 2021, Ms. Rodriguez served as director of the Economic Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. In this position, she led the efforts to combat discrimination in employment, healthcare, and economic opportunities on behalf of individuals of color. She has co-authored or contributed to amicus briefs before the Supreme Court and other federal courts and served as plaintiff-side counsel in impact litigation matters. Ms. Rodriquez also served as co-chair of the Employment Task Force of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Previously, Ms. Rodriquez worked for about four years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York. In 2011 and 2012, she worked as a Commercial Litigation Associate in the Labor and Employment department of Farrell Fritz, P.C. and prior to that as an Associate at Jackson Lewis LLP from 2007 through 2011.

Ms. Rodriquez holds a J.D. from Hofstra University and a B.A. from New York University.

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OutSolve's Insight

Ms. Rodriquez appears to have very strong credentials in the plaintiff-side of civil rights issues. While this does not augur well for contractor interests, it’s not clear at this point what impact a Chief of Staff will have on policy or enforcement issues.

Previous Chiefs of Staff have included Lissette Gean (who also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Director) when Craig Leen was Director, and Claudia Gordon, who served under Patricia Shiu. Neither of these individuals seemed to have made much of a mark during their tenures.