EEOC Rescinds Longstanding Affirmative Action Guidance

The EEOC has rescinded two longstanding agency documents that for decades guided its evaluations of employers’ affirmative action initiatives. The agency now says the guidance was inconsistent with Title VII and Supreme Court precedent. The rescinded documents are: the 1979 Guidelines on Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII, which set out the agency’s framework for evaluating voluntary affirmative action plans;...

DOL Rescinds WIOA Outreach Mandate, Signals Narrower View of Nondiscrimination

The Department of Labor has rescinded a regulation that required recipients of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds to conduct affirmative outreach to specific demographic groups. DOL concluded that it lacked statutory authority to mandate such outreach and that nondiscrimination laws do not require proactive efforts to expand participation based on protected characteristics. DOL drew a sharp distinction between...

DOJ Opinion Letter Questions EEOC Disparate Impact Framework and Uniform Guidelines

A new Justice Department opinion letter that sharply criticizes the EEOC's disparate impact guidance sets the stage for significant policy shifts at the agency. The opinion letter, from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), concludes that the EEOC’s interpretations of Title VII disparate impact liability are unconstitutional because they “contemplate liability based on disparate effects alone, without regard to...

EEOC Moves To Rescind 1979 Affirmative Action Interpretive Guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has asked OMB to approve a measure that would rescind the agency’s 1979 guidance on when Title VII permits voluntary affirmative action. The guidance, codified at 29 CFR Part 1608, outlines when employers may adopt voluntary affirmative action plans for women and minorities. Most employers that adopted affirmative action plans for women and minorities did so...

House Appropriators Seek Nearly 13 Percent Cut From EEOC’s Budget

The House subcommittee responsible for funding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has recommended steep cuts in the agency’s budget, a sharp contrast from the more than $20 million increase sought by the Administration. The panel has advanced spending legislation for fiscal year 2027 that would slash $55.8 million from the EEOC’s budget, a 12.9 percent cut from its current funding of...