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)
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 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 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
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
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has released its 2024 Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) benchmark. Effective March 31, 2024, the new benchmark is 5.2%, a slight...more
On March 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that its Contractor Portal will open to receive Affirmative Action Program (“AAP”) certification submissions on April 1, 2024. Certifications must be made by...more
On January 29, 2024, the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Biden Administration announced that it would be taking new actions to implement the Executive Order on Advancing Economy,...more
1/31/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Job Ads ,
Lilly Ledbetter ,
Notice Requirements ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Subcontractors
On December 22, 2023, a court in the Northern District of California ordered the disclosure of EEO-1 Reports filed by federal contractors and subcontractors (“Contractors”) between 2016 and 2020 in the case, Center for...more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the “EO”), the first executive order directly addressing artificial...more
11/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Machine Learning ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Reform
As we previously posted, federal contractors and subcontractors meeting the VEVRAA eligibility threshold (“Covered Contractors”) have until September 30, 2023 to file their VETS-4212 Reports....more