Compliance Stuff

On June 11, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule that would f ormally remove from its 8(a) Business Development Program regulations the rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage for members of certain racial and ethnic groups and replace it with a new eligibility test centered on whether an applicant has been harmed by unlawful discrimination, including illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. 00:00 24:53 In doing so, the proposed rule appears to flip the old presumption on its head, allowing the existence of the prior presumption to serve as evidence of discrimination against those who were excluded from it. Quick Hits The proposed rule replaces the old eligibility framework with a new test requiring applicants to show that a governmental or private entity discriminated against or was biased against their racial, ethnic, or cultural group, and that such discrimination caused them material harm. The rule explicitly identifie...

  Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming recently passed laws aligning with recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump defining sex as binary and immutable. Quick Hits Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming lawmakers recently enacted state laws recognizing only two genders, male and female. The state legislators acted after President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing that the federal government’s new policy is to recognize only two sexes, male and female, despite contravening federal law. The three states restrict transgender and nonbinary individuals from using public school bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined  Iowa  and other states in passing state laws redefining gender as binary (e.g., male and female only) and immutable, thus attempting to reject governing Supreme Court of the United States case law recognizing gender identity as a protected characteristic under Title VII of t...