The EEOC has rescinded two longstanding agency documents that for decades guided its evaluations of employers’ affirmative action initiatives. The agency now says the guidance was inconsistent with Title VII and Supreme Court precedent.

The rescinded documents are:

  • the 1979 Guidelines on Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII, which set out the agency’s framework for evaluating voluntary affirmative action plans; and
  • Compliance Manual Section 607, which instructed EEOC staff in evaluating Title VII charges involving affirmative action plans.

The rescissions remove the EEOC’s established framework for evaluating voluntary affirmative action plans and reinforce its increased scrutiny of employment practices that are conscious of race, sex, and national origin.

Employers should update any of their policies that rely on the rescinded EEOC materials. They should also review any race-, sex-, or national-origin-conscious initiatives to ensure that they rest on current legal authority and a well-documented rationale.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here. CWC’s DEI Risk Assessment Package can help employers address related compliance risks.