Overview
- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted on June 30, 2026 to withdraw its 1979 interpretive guidance and the related Compliance Manual section that had explained when voluntary race- or sex-conscious workplace programs were permissible.
- The agency said the guidance conflicted with the text of Title VII and later Supreme Court decisions, and it concluded the documents no longer reflect current legal standards for treating employees by protected characteristics.
- Rescission removes an EEOC-issued roadmap that employers used to design voluntary affirmative action plans and undercuts the agency-based good-faith reliance defense found in Section 713(b)(1) of Title VII.
- Legal advisers and former agency officials are urging employers to audit DEI, hiring, promotion, compensation, and related practices now because the change increases the risk of EEOC investigations, private lawsuits, and state enforcement actions.
- The move fits a broader trend, including a recent DOJ Office of Legal Counsel opinion, toward tighter limits on disparate-impact and race- or sex-conscious policies, and it is likely to create a patchwork of enforcement and new litigation testing the bounds of permissible workplace remedies.