On July 29, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” (the “Memorandum”), responding to the federal government’s recent...more
Federal contractors and subcontractors meeting the VEVRAA eligibility threshold of having 50 or more employees and at least one federal contract totaling $150,000 or more (“Covered Contractors”) must annually file a VETS-4212...more
On July 30, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) must disclose federal contractor EEO-1 Reports requested by the Center for Investigative Reporting (“CIR”). The...more
8/5/2025
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EEO-1 ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOIA ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
OFCCP ,
Trade Secrets
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has released its 2025 Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) national benchmark. Effective July 30, 2025, the new benchmark is 5.1%, a slight...more
On June 11, 2025, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate issued a memorandum entitled Civil Division Enforcement Priorities (the “Memorandum”), outlining five areas of focus for Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Civil Division...more
On June 27, 2025, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) Director Catherine Eschbach issued a letter announcing that OFCCP is “providing all federal contractors withthe opportunity to volunteer informationin...more
7/7/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On July 7, 2025, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer issued Order 08-2025 (the “Order”) impacting OFCCP’s enforcement of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 503”) and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment...more
On March 24, 2025, the Department of Labor announced the appointment of Catherine Eschbach as Director of OFCCP. Direct Eschbach joins the agency after serving as an appellate lawyer in private practice.
Director Eschbach...more
3/27/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
New Regulations ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
As we previously reported, on March 3, 2025, the Maryland District Court denied Defendants’ motion to stay the preliminary injunction in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, preventing the...more
According to Washington Post and Bloomberg press reports, on February 25, 2025, OFCCP Acting Director Michael Schloss submitted a memorandum to Acting Secretary of Labor, Vincent Micone, outlining OFCCP’s plan to...more
On February 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction pausing enforcement of several provisions of President Trump’s DEI-related executive orders on Ending Radical and...more
On February 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction pausing enforcement of several provisions of President Trump’s DEI-related executive orders on Ending Radical and...more
2/25/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Government Agencies ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Separation of Powers
While much of the focus on President Trump’s recent Executive Order on Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (the “EO”) has been on its elimination of race and sex-based affirmative action...more
2/13/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration
Following President Trump’s rescission of Executive Order 11246, on January 24, 2025, the Acting Secretary of Labor issued Secretary’s Order 03-2025 (the “Order”), which orders all Department of Labor employees, including...more
1/28/2025
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued a broad executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”), which among other things, rescinds Executive Order (“EO”) 11246....more
1/23/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration
With President Trump’s second administration set to begin on January 20, 2025, federal contractors and subcontractors are anxiously awaiting what he might do with respect to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs...more
1/15/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Religious Exemption ,
Trump Administration
Effective as of January 8, 2025, the FAR Council has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have limited federal contractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history and required...more
1/9/2025
/ Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salary/Wage History
On November 20, 2024, OFCCP announced a new Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for supply and service contractors. The new list consists of 2,000 federal contractors and subcontractors selected for a Compliance...more
On October 30, 2024, the District Court for the Southern District of Texas preliminarily enjoined the Department of Labor (“DOL”), the Secretary of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”), and the...more
On October 28, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published a notice in the Federal Register informing federal contractors that the agency has received two new Freedom of Information Act...more
On August 21, 2024, the NLRB affirmed an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) decision and held in SFR, Inc. d/b/a Parkside Café, 373 N.L.R.B. No. 84, that employees who participated in Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) protests outside...more
On July 26, 2024, OFCCP published Directive 2024-01: Expedited Conciliation Procedures (the “Directive”). The Directive is intended to “outline updated procedures for an expedited conciliation option, giving contractors and...more
8/14/2024
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Conciliation ,
Documentation ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Investigations ,
Jurisdiction ,
Negotiations ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Notice of Violation ,
OFCCP ,
Subcontractors
On May 24, 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council published a Notice and request for comments for 9000-0177, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-tier Subcontract Awards.
If approved, the new FAR...more
As we previously reported, federal contractors and subcontractors (“Contractors”) have until July 1, 2024 to certify the status of their Affirmative Action Programs (“AAPs”) with the OFCCP Contractor Portal. Specifically,...more
On June 7, 2024, OFCCP released its latest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL). The list identifies 500 supply and service contractors and subcontractors selected for a Compliance Review (Establishment Review),...more