OFCCP relaxes rules for federal contractors

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a trio of Final Rules that reduce affirmative action-related compliance requirements for federal contractors. All three take effect September 21, 2026.

Most affirmative action requirements officially gone

Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations officially rescinds regulations under Executive Order (EO) 11246, which had required covered federal contractors to take affirmative action with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The move is largely a formality; President Trump’s EO 14173 rescinded EO 11246 in January 2025 and required covered contractors to end their affirmative action programs by April of that year. Although the affirmative action regulations remained on the books, they were not enforced. The Final Rule aligns the official state of federal law regarding affirmative action with the Trump administration’s approach in practice.

Disability and veteran status changes

Affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities – required by the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, respectively – are still in place. But the remaining two Final Rules make some changes.

The more substantive changes relate to disability-related inquiries under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. Under Modifications to the Regulations Implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended, federal contractors will no longer be required to:

• Invite applicants and employees to self-identify their disability status;
• Collect disability-related data; or
• Analyze disability representation against a utilization goal (formerly 7%).

The OFCCP framed the changes as creating consistency with the restrictions on disability-related inquiries under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the Final Rule, employers should focus their disability affirmative action efforts on measures that do not depend on knowledge of an individual’s disability status, such as:

• Conducting skills-based barrier analysis and remediation;
• Partnering with disability employment organizations for outreach and recruiting; and
• Focusing on accessibility during the hiring process.

Amendments to the VEVRAA requirements are primarily technical. Modifications to the Regulations Implementing the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as Amended incorporates provisions governing enforcement procedures under EO 11246, which VEVRAA regulations cross-reference, directly into the VEVRAA regulations and remove other references to EO 11246. The regulations also raise the coverage threshold in federal contracts from $150,000 to $200,000.