Navigating Culture, Inclusion, and the Evolving Landscape

Craig Leen is a partner in the Washington, DC office of K&L Gates, where he co-leads the firm’s OFCCP and Affirmative Action Compliance area of focus. His depth of experience spans across federal, state, and local government, as well as the private sector. He is also President-Elect of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and will serve as the 139th President of the BADC next year. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Craig served as the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a federal civil rights enforcement agency at the US Department of Labor that regulates federal contractors. In this role, Craig reported directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Labor in the first Trump Administration, with OFCCP experiencing record years in both enforcement recoveries and compliance assistance. Craig oversaw three rulemakings and issuance of several technical assistance guides to help employers comply with the law, ultimately receiving the Secretary’s Exceptional Achievement Award – Professional for his work helping transform OFCCP. As a federal agency head at DOL, Craig worked extensively with numerous other federal agencies, including the Wage & Hour Division (WHD), the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), the Employment Training Administration (ETA), the Office of Apprenticeship (OA), the Civil Rights and Federal Programs Divisions of the US Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Education, the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). From his leadership experience at OFCCP and US DOL, Craig provides clients who conduct business with the federal government a wealth of experience and insight into the enforcement of equal employment opportunity (EEO), civil rights, and other regulations, including compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and antidiscrimination obligations, with Craig representing companies before federal agencies and in litigation before courts at the trial and appellate levels. Likewise, Craig provides frequent advice to clients on developing EEO, public accommodation, and inclusion programs that are compliant with federal antidiscrimination law, such as Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, the Fair Housing Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act along with other laws, including conducting comprehensive pay equity and promotions self-audits. Many of Craig’s clients are government contractors and fund recipients who must comply with additional obligations based on their receipt of federal or state funds and contracts. Craig advises these clients and represents them before government agencies. Further, Craig has extensive experience overseeing internal investigations and employment audits that can help companies in ensuring compliance with applicable civil rights and employment laws, including in the use of artificial intelligence, which is an increasing focus of federal and state regulators. Finally, Craig's knowledge and experience with the regulatory process is of significant value in providing counsel as to agency rulemakings under the Administrative Procedure Act, including advising clients on submitting comments on notices of proposed rulemakings and participating in EO 12866 meetings. Craig is frequently consulted by organizations on their disability inclusion, neurodiversity, and accessibility programs, and he is a frequent speaker on disability inclusion in the workplace, in education, and in all aspects of society. Craig's experiences prior to OFCCP as a government attorney at the municipal and county levels in Florida also provide him a unique vantage point to advise clients on all aspects of regulatory compliance at multiple levels of government. Finally, Craig is a frequent public speaker and teacher, including as a Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School, where he teaches Disability Rights Law, Government Lawyering, and Local Government Law, and where he received the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award from the Class of 2025 at graduation. Craig has also been interviewed and quoted on civil rights and equal employment opportunity topics by numerous major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, Bloomberg, Law360, and SHRM.