California’s Civil Rights Department finalized regulations to curb the discriminatory impacts of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making in the workplace. The regulations apply to all employers in California and...more
8/27/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Bias ,
California ,
Data Collection ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
New Regulations ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws
As federal policies shift from affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives — particularly through Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which...more
8/20/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
California ,
Contract Terms ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
State Contractors ,
Subcontractors
Though delayed, OFCCP has released the updated the annual Veteran Hiring Benchmark. The benchmark is set at 5.1% effective July 30, 2025.
The current 5.1% benchmark, is slightly lower than the previous mark of 5.2% set in...more
On July 30, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court order requiring the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to release EEO-1 reports previously withheld in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)...more
8/4/2025
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EEO-1 ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOIA ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Statutory Interpretation
In conjunction with the recent proposed rule changes to the Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503) and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) regulations, the Department of...more
7/3/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Section 503 ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
OFCCP has published proposed modifications to the VEVRAA and Section 503 regulations which govern federal contractor affirmative action obligations for veterans and individuals with disabilities.
The proposed changes to...more
7/1/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
New Regulations ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Section 503 ,
Veterans ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
In a letter dated June 27, 2025, sent to federal contractors and posted on its website, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced it is providing federal contractors the option to voluntarily submit...more
6/30/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In a move the Agency reported is designed to maintain healthcare access for active and retired service members and their families, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has announced a two-year extension...more
6/25/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Moratorium ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Subcontractors ,
TRICARE ,
Veterans ,
Veterans' Benefits ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiscal year 2026 proposed budget, the Department is set to fully eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) next fiscal year, which begins October 1,...more
6/3/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Audits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
As projected, the 2024 EEO-1 Data Collection is officially open. The deadline to file the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 report is Tuesday, June 24, 2025. EEOC notes in its announcement that-
"[a]s part of the EEOC’s efforts to...more
As an update to our previous post, the EEOC’s request for a non-substantive change to remove the option for employers to voluntarily report non-binary data on the EEO-1 data collection has been approved without change....more
On April 15, 2025, in response to Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, the EEOC filed an Information Collection Request (ICR) with OMB...more
Ten former Department of Labor Officials, including former EEOC Commissioner and past OFCCP Director Jenny Yang, sent an open letter to federal contractors responding to President Trump’s issuance of Executive Order 14173 and...more
The Wall Street Journal is reporting newly appointed OFCCP Director Catherine Eschbach announced to OFCCP staff that the Agency will review federal contractor affirmative action plans previously submitted to the Agency for...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Catherine Eschbach will be the new Director of OFCCP, taking over for Acting Director Michael Schloss. Director Eschbach comes from private practice as an Appellate attorney at...more
President Donald Trump has rescinded President Joe Biden’s executive order (EO) increasing the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The rescission was one of numerous Biden EOs revoked by Trump in a second wave...more
The federal district court for the district of Maryland on Feb. 21, 2025, issued a preliminary injunction temporarily prohibiting the Trump Administration from enforcing three provisions of the Administration’s Jan. 20 and...more
2/25/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First Amendment ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a Texas federal court’s decision that invalidated President Joe Biden’s executive order increasing the hourly minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The...more
2/11/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
OFCCP’s website reflects Michael Schloss has been appointed to the Deputy Director for Policy Role within the Agency. Michele Hodge, former Acting Director is listed as Deputy Director while the Director role remains vacant....more
In response to President Trump revoking Executive Order 11246, Acting U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Vincent Micone issued an Order on January 24th, instructing DOL employees including OFCCP to stop all enforcement...more
1/25/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Audits ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
Late in the day on January 23, 2025, the Office of Federal Compliance Programs (OFCCP) sent out its first official agency communication since President Trump’s historic Executive Order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and...more
1/24/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Revocation ,
Section 503 ,
Trump Administration
On Jan. 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (EO). Its stated purpose is to end illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion and...more
1/24/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Donald Trump ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump acted swiftly to ensure federal agencies recognize only two sexes, male and female, and to reject the concept of “gender ideology.” Among the slew of his Day 1 executive...more
Bloomberg Law reported late Tuesday night that President Donald Trump has revoked Executive Order 11246 as part of a broader executive order addressing diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government and...more
In one of numerous Executive Orders signed on January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an order entitled, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” The Executive Order revokes a long list of Executive...more
1/21/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Donald Trump ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Identity ,
Joe Biden ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rescission ,
Social Equity Programs ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaccinations