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OFCCP formally ends EO 11246 affirmative action requirements

8/26/26

By: Sunshine Fellows

The federal contractor compliance landscape has officially changed. On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Final Rule rescinding the regulations that implemented Executive Order 11246. The Final Rule, which takes effect October 26, 2026, follows President Trump’s January 2025 revocation of EO 11246 and formally closes a significant chapter in federal contractor compliance.

For employers that have spent decades preparing affirmative action plans, conducting utilization analyses, establishing placement goals, and preparing for OFCCP compliance reviews, the practical question is no longer whether the EO 11246 framework will continue, but rather how to unwind that framework without overlooking other legal obligations or discarding practices that still serve a lawful and useful purpose.

What the Final Rule eliminates

The Final Rule rescinds the EO 11246 regulations in 41 C.F.R. Parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, 60-20, 60-40, 60-50, and 60-999. It also removes the EO 11246 components of the administrative enforcement procedures in Part 60-30. DOL explained that EO 14173 revoked EO 11246, eliminating the executive authority underlying the regulations. DOL also concluded that significant portions of the former framework were legally vulnerable because, in the Department’s view, they conflicted with constitutional principles, federal civil rights law, and statutory authority.

For non-construction contractors, the rescission eliminates the EO 11246 requirement that contractors with at least 50 employees and a qualifying federal contract prepare and maintain written affirmative action programs addressing race and sex. Those programs required workforce analyses, comparisons to labor-market availability, identification of underutilization, and placement goals where representation was below the level reasonably expected based on availability.

For construction contractors, the rule eliminates the EO 11246 requirements in Part 60-4, including the longstanding female and geographically based minority participation goals and their associated compliance obligations.

What the rule does, and does not, change

The rescission does not give federal contractors a license to discriminate. Employers remain subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other applicable federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws.

Nor does the rescission, by itself, eliminate federal contractor requirements arising under separate statutes. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) have independent statutory foundations. Contractors should evaluate those requirements separately, particularly because OFCCP has also issued separate final rules modifying portions of the Section 503 and VEVRAA regulatory frameworks.

The federal government’s focus on contractor nondiscrimination also is changing rather than disappearing. Executive Order 14398, issued in March 2026, addresses what it defines as racially discriminatory DEI activities by federal contractors and directs agencies to implement related contract requirements. The end of the familiar EO 11246 affirmative action regime therefore should not be understood as reduced federal attention to employment practices involving race or other protected characteristics.

Why this matters for employers

The most immediate consequence is the elimination of a compliance structure that shaped recruiting, hiring, promotion, recordkeeping, and workforce analysis for decades. Contractors that maintained EO 11246 affirmative action plans should identify which components of their programs existed solely to satisfy the rescinded regulations. That review should include workforce availability and utilization analyses, placement goals, construction participation goals, recruiting procedures, internal reporting, demographic data practices, recordkeeping protocols, and policies developed specifically for OFCCP compliance.

Employers should not, however, assume that every practice associated with an affirmative action or equal employment opportunity program should be discarded. Some practices may continue to support legitimate nondiscrimination, recruiting, workforce planning, or compliance objectives. Others may remain relevant under Section 503, VEVRAA, Title VII, or state and local law. The key is to understand why each practice exists and whether its current design remains legally appropriate.

At the same time, contractors should closely review programs that expressly use race, sex, or other protected characteristics in employment decision making. DOL’s explanation of the Final Rule, together with the administration’s broader contractor directives, reflects increased skepticism toward race- and sex-conscious employment practices and a corresponding emphasis on neutral, merit-based criteria.

What employers should do now

Separate the legal regimes: Identify which obligations arose solely under EO 11246 and which continue under Section 503, VEVRAA, Title VII, other federal requirements, or state and local law.

Inventory legacy practices: Review affirmative action plans, utilization analyses, placement and participation goals, recruiting initiatives, demographic data collection, recordkeeping, and internal reporting.

Evaluate protected-characteristic criteria: Examine hiring, promotion, mentorship, leadership-development, internship, and DEI programs that expressly consider race, sex, or another protected characteristic.

Review contract requirements: Confirm whether current or future federal contracts contain nondiscrimination clauses or certifications adopted under newer executive and acquisition directives.

Document the reason for retained practices: Preserve programs that remain lawful and useful, but record their current business, EEO, or compliance purpose rather than allowing them to continue on autopilot.

The practical takeaway

The end of EO 11246 does not mean the end of employment law compliance for federal contractors. It changes the nature of that compliance. The prescriptive framework requiring workforce analyses and placement or participation goals for women and minorities is ending, while traditional nondiscrimination requirements remain and newer federal directives increase scrutiny of employment practices that use protected characteristics.

Contractors should resist both extremes: continuing legacy EO 11246 practices without evaluating their present purpose and legal basis, or dismantling compliance programs wholesale without determining what obligations remain. A focused review with employment counsel can help distinguish among requirements that are disappearing, practices worth retaining for lawful business or compliance reasons, and programs that warrant modification in the evolving legal landscape.

The Final Rule becomes effective October 26, 2026.

For more information on this topic, please contact Sunshine Fellows at sunshine.fellows@fmglaw.com or your local FMG Law attorney.

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