Labor Department Rescinds Affirmative Action Regulations Behind Executive Order 11246, Effective October 26

NewsData.io · United States · Aug 25, 2026

The Labor Department has issued a final rule, effective October 26, 2026, rescinding the regulatory framework underpinning Executive Order 11246—the 60-year-old federal contractor equal opportunity mandate revoked by Executive Order 14173 in January 2025. The rule eliminates affirmative action program requirements, workforce analysis obligations, placement goal-setting, and EEO-1 reporting obligations for covered federal contractors and subcontractors. Federal contractors with 50 or more employees previously subject to written affirmative action plans will no longer face those mandates, though Title VII, Section 503, and VEVRAA obligations remain intact. Staffing firms and employers that place workers on federal contracts must assess how this changes their compliance posture before the October deadline.