Consider these tips for complying with EEOC priorities

Employers would be well-served to review their policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that they are in line with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) current focus and priorities. 

Pay attention to EEOC’s targets

The watch words of “equity versus equality” underpin the EEOC’s targets for enforcement actions. According to official and unofficial statements made by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, scrutiny will be paid to programs that are tethered to protected classes and that promote the rights of groups versus those of individuals. The EEOC will also direct its focus on intentional discrimination in the form of disparate treatment rather than disparate impact.

Examples of actions taken to advance EEOC’s priorities include Lucas’ February 26, 2026, letter to the leaders of the Fortune 500 companies concerning “unlawful discrimination related to [diversity, equity, and inclusion] DEI in the workplace” and the federal lawsuit filed against an employer that provided a sponsored trip and networking event for a group of female employees, to the exclusion of males. 

Another was the $500,000 conciliation agreement resolving a class investigation of a racial harassment charge against an employer that mandated its employees attend either racially segregated “affinity caucuses” or DEI training.

What should employers do?

Recommendations for compliance include the following: