The Department of Labor has rescinded a regulation that required recipients of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds to conduct affirmative outreach to specific demographic groups. DOL concluded that it lacked statutory authority to mandate such outreach and that nondiscrimination laws do not require proactive efforts to expand participation based on protected characteristics.
DOL drew a sharp distinction between nondiscrimination (which it defines as avoiding intentional disparate treatment) and affirmative outreach (which it treats as a separate, voluntary activity). The Labor Department expressed concern that government-mandated outreach tied to protected characteristics may raise constitutional issues by requiring race- or sex-conscious decision making.
The Labor Department is not discouraging outreach. It says voluntary outreach may help “promote inclusivity” and “raise awareness” of WIOA services. However, DOL is letting WIOA recipients decide whether and how to conduct such outreach rather than treating it as a legal mandate.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.