DOL finalizes rules dismantling affirmative action framework for federal contractors

On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published three final rules that collectively dismantle or significantly curtail longstanding affirmative action obligations for federal contractors, marking a decisive step in the current administration’s broader campaign to overhaul federal equal employment opportunity enforcement. The rules target the three principal regulatory pillars administered by the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP): the regulations implementing Executive Order (EO) 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).

Rescission of EO 11246 regulations

The most far-reaching of the three rules formally eliminates the regulatory infrastructure that supported EO 11246, the landmark 1965 directive signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson that had, for more than five decades, required covered federal contractors to engage in affirmative action based on race and sex and to refrain from certain discriminatory employment practices. President Trump revoked EO 11246 in January 2025 through EO 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which directed the OFCCP to cease promoting diversity initiatives and to discontinue holding contractors accountable under the Johnson-era framework.