The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) this week published its long-awaited overhaul of the agency’s decades-old Sex Discrimination Guidelines, replacing the former guidelines with formal regulations that will have the force and effect of law. The new regulations, which will go into effect on August 15, 2016, address discrimination related to, among other things, compensation, harassment, and workplace accommodations for pregnant workers.
On the positive side, OFCCP’s final rule addresses many (but not all) of the concerns raised in written comments filed last year by NT Lakis lawyers on OFCCP’s original proposal, and merely reiterates well-established sex discrimination principles under Title VII case law. At the same time, the rule also delves into new and evolving theories of sex discrimination, including those involving sex stereotyping, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
A copy of the final rule, Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, which was published in the Federal Register on June 15, 2016, is available here. Additional materials explaining the rule are available here.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.