LDF Condemns EEOC Decision to Withdraw Guidance on Addressing Employment Discrimination

This week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) submitted a proposal to the White House, seeking to remove a decades-old interpretive rule that supports companies working to address employment discrimination through affirmative action plans in line with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Supreme Court precedent.

This action comes as the Trump administration continues targeting lawful tools to address racial discrimination and is in line with the EEOC's broader efforts to prioritize employment bias claims brought by white men. Elimination of the rule is designed to create confusion for employers and interfere with access to employment, particularly for Black people and other people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other protected classes who experience rampant discrimination in the workplace.

"It is deeply concerning to see the EEOC move forward with this rule, which sends a signal to employers that they should not take lawful steps to eliminate barriers in the workplace," said Amalea Smirniotopoulos, Senior Policy Counsel and Co-Manager of the Equal Protection Initiative at the Legal Defense Fund (LDF). "Rescinding the EEOC's rules, however, does not change the law or limit what employers can do to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Employers can still engage in broad recruitment, implement training programs, eliminate requirements that are not job-related, and use other lawful means to ensure equal opportunity for all-despite the agency's attempt to discourage them. We urge the EEOC to immediately reverse course and keep the rules in place."

The agency's apparent decision to issue a final rule circumvents the standard notice-and-comment period meant to give potentially impacted members of the public an opportunity to weigh in on the issue. This decision to rescind the affirmative action rule is not required by the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College and University of North Carolina, et al. and does not change the law. It also does not change what employers can do to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, which was not covered by the rule.

LDF created guidance explaining what employers and businesses can do to break down barriers to opportunity in this moment. You can read it here.

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