Compliance Stuff

On June 18, 2026, the nonprofit organization As You Sow filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) complaint against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to compel disclosure of Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data submitted by federal contractors for 2021 and 2022. 0:00 8:57 Quick Hits A nonprofit has sued DOL under FOIA to compel disclosure of federal contractors’ 2021 and 2022 Type 2 EEO-1 data, the most recent reporting years targeted by such a request. The suit mirrors an earlier case in California, C enter for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Department of Labor , where the same type of FOIA request for contractor EEO-1 data led to disclosure of the 2016 through 2020 reports. The suit was filed as the EEOC moves to rescind the EEO-1 reporting requirement, meaning contractors that f iled Type 2 reports for 2021 and 2022 may face pressure to disclose data even as the report itself heads toward elimination . The suit fol...

A longtime rule may soon be scrapped that helped employers ensure they were providing equal employment opportunities and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion while also complying with federal anti-discrimination laws. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) submitted a proposal to the White House on May 27 seeking to revoke a safe harbor for employers that’s been in place for nearly 50 years. The move aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate DEI programs from the workplace and focus on merit-based opportunities. Here are three key takeaways from the EEOC’s latest action and the practical steps employers should be taking now. 1. Employers Would Lose Safe Harbor The EEOC wants to revoke a 1979 interpretive rule addressing a potential conflict between voluntary affirmative action plans (not those previously mandated for federal contractors) and compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based ...

Navigating the requirements set forth by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is essential for ensuring adherence to anti-discrimination and affirmative action regulations and not risking fines and reputational damage. If you’ve been doing this long enough, you know that  OFCCP compliance  rarely feels urgent until someone asks for proof. Proof that jobs were posted correctly. That outreach was documented. That hiring decisions were tracked consistently and can be explained. This guide is built for HR leaders who understand the basics but want a clear-eyed picture of where things stand heading into 2026 and what the teams that sail through audits are actually doing differently. Here’s the short version of what’s changed and what still matters most: Executive Order 11246 was revoked in January 2025 , shifting the active compliance focus to Section 503 and VEVRAA. Coverage thresholds were inflation-adjusted effective October 1, 2025, so it is worth re-check...

In July, the DOJ released updated guidance on what might constitute “illegal DEI” by government contractors under an executive order issued in January. As a result, contractors must now move beyond compliance checklists and toward a strategic, principled and legally sound approach to workforce management, says Constangy partner Cara Crotty, who breaks down the latest developments.   In January, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” This action rescinded Executive Order 11246, signed in 1965 to provide equal opportunity for women and minorities in hiring by government contractors. The practical implications of this significant shift are just beginning to unfold. Contractors must now recalibrate their  compliance  practices, understand their remaining legal obligations and prepare for a new era of federal scrutiny, one that targets DEI programs as potential sources of unlawful discriminati...