Affirmative Action - General

EEOC Rescinds Guidance on Permissible Affirmative Action On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had rescinded two documents relating to permissible affirmative action 1 under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act: (1) its regulatory guidelines 2 on “appropriate” affirmative action under the statute; and (2) section 607 of its Compliance Manual, which addressed those guidelines and the agency’s enforcement positions with respect to permissible affir…

Takeaways The EEOC voted to rescind its 1979 interpretive guidance on voluntary affirmative action under Title VII and the related EEOC Compliance Manual Section 607. The EEOC said the guidance was inconsistent with the text of Title VII and subsequent Supreme Court precedent. The rescission reflects the EEOC’s continued shift away from prior agency positions on affirmative action and DEI-related employment practices. Links EEOC Votes to Rescind Affirmative Action Interpretive Guidelines and Re…

On June 11, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule that would formally 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.

On April 3, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released two memoranda, M-25-21 and M-25-22, regarding federal agencies’ use and acquisition, respectively, of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Among other strategies oriented towards the Trump administration’s priorities o

Executive Order (E.O.) 13496, signed on January 30, 2009, mandates that certain government contractors and subcontractors post notices informing their employees of their rights under federal labor laws. This executive order applies to all government contracts, except for collective bargaining agreem

On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) that moved a long-standing presidential initiative focused on supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from the U.S. Department of Education to the White House.

On February 15, 2025, the director of the U.S.

Government contractors responsible for preparing affirmative action plans must certify that they’re actively developing and maintaining them. The deadline for this required certification is July 1, 2024.

On December 4, 2023, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council submitted a proposed rule on “Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting” to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. On January 11, 2024, OMB approved the proposal, thus clearing the way for the

Continuing its efforts questioning the constitutionality of the use of race in higher education admissions, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has filed a lawsuit in the District of Maryland against the U.S. Naval Academy on October 5, 2023. The lawsuit was filed just months after the U.S. Supreme

How does the Supreme Court of the United States’ ban on affirmative action in higher education affect government contractors? In short—it doesn’t. Covered federal contractors and subcontractors must continue to comply with their regulatory obligations under Executive Order (EO) 11246, the Vietnam Er

No matter the month or year, employers can count on one thing, changes in workplace law. Having reached the midway point of the year, 2023 does not look to be an exception.

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down affirmative action in college admissions, leaving employers to wrestle with the implications of the decision for various diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The decision also contained a robust debate over the government’

In its decision holding the use of race in university and college admissions is unconstitutional in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court noted that “[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” Students for Fair Admissions,

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of race in university and college admissions is unconstitutional. Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College , No. 20-1199, together with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Univ. of North Carolina, No. 21-707 (June 29, 2

Executive Summary : On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down both Harvard College’s and the University of North Carolina’s affirmative action programs as they relate to student admissions. Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard) and Student

By: Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision Could Have Rippling Effects in the Workplace By: Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision Could Have Rippling Effects in the Workplace Last week, in ruling on Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard) an

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States held that certain race-conscious college admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on race. The ruling comes in a decision consolidating two cases that challenged

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Harvard’s and UNC’s race-conscious admissions practices are unconstitutional.