As part of the White House’s broader effort to rewrite federal equal employment opportunity rules, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued three final rules that substantially roll back affirmative action requirements for federal contractors. These rules collectively address Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), which, up until now, comprised the regulatory framework that the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers.
Executive Order 11246
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11246 in 1965. The order required federal contractors to make affirmative action efforts based on race and sex. The order also banned certain types of employment discrimination.
President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14173 in January 2025. That order, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” revoked Executive Order 11246 and ordered OFCCP to stop requiring federal contractors to engage in affirmative action. As a result, DOL paused all pending enforcement activities tied to Executive Order 11246.
Building on that executive order, one of the DOL’s newly finalized rules removes the regulations and infrastructure that supported the requirements of Executive Order 11246. It removes all regulations that govern affirmative action programs. The rule goes into effect on October 26, 2026.
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act
DOL also made substantial modifications to the regulations that implement Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 503 prohibits certain federal contractors from discriminating based on disability and requires affirmative action to hire qualified employees with disabilities. In particular, the DOL final rule eliminates the 7% utilization goal for individuals with disabilities, a benchmark established in 2013. This benchmark called on federal contractors to work toward maintaining a 7% rate of employees with disabilities in each job group in their workforce. Contractors also are no longer required to invite applicants and employees to self-identify as having a disability or collect relevant data. According to the DOL, these requirements might have run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Most aspects of this rule take effect on September 21, 2026.
Nonetheless, the DOL’s final rule does not overturn Section 503. As a result, covered federal contractors must continue to follow Section 503’s mandates, including those requiring the affirmative employment of individuals with disabilities and prohibiting discrimination based on disability.
VEVRAA
The DOL’s third final rule modifies the regulations that implement VEVRAA. That legislation protects certain veterans by requiring covered federal contractors to employ and advance them. This rule largely makes technical changes and updates. However, the rule leaves the underlying affirmative action requirements for veterans in place.
Although the rule allows OFCCP to step back from monitoring federal contractors’ employment practices, contractors remain subject to anti-discrimination laws. In addition to VEVRAA, federal contractors remain subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and applicable state and local nondiscrimination laws.
As a result, federal contractors can expect fewer affirmative action and data-collection requirements from the federal government. However, they are still subject to federal, state, and local laws that prohibit discrimination. The newly finalized rules also maintain some affirmative requirements for contractors regarding individuals with disabilities and veterans.
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