Speaker

Craig Leen is a partner at K&L Gates in Washington, DC, in the firm's Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice, and 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.

Craig previously served as the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a federal civil rights enforcement agency at the U.S. Department of Labor. In this role, Craig reported directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Labor; overseeing approximately 450 employees and a budget of over $105 million, with a mission to ensure compliance by federal contractors with equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination obligations.

During his tenure, OFCCP experienced record years in both enforcement recoveries and compliance assistance, with Craig overseeing three rulemakings and issuance of several technical assistance guides to help employers comply with the law. Likewise, as an agency head at the U.S. DOL, Craig worked directly 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 Civil Rights and Federal Programs Divisions of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Craig is also a Professor of Government Lawyering and Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School, and he serves on numerous boards and committees, including as Chair of the Civil & Human Rights Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Co-Chair of the DC Family Support Council, and Vice Chair of the DC Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights. He also serves on the Advisory Board and AI Ethics Council of Eightfold, the Board and Executive Committee of Disability Belongs, and the Advisory Committee of Disability:IN DC Metro.

Craig was previously City Attorney of the City of Coral Gables, and earlier in his career served as Chief of the Appeals Section and then Chief of the Federal Litigation Section at the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office. Craig also was a federal law clerk for the Honorable Robert E. Keeton, District Judge of the District of Massachusetts. Craig is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York.