EEOC Removes 1979 Affirmative Action Guidelines From Federal Rules as Title VII Concerns Mount
Updated
Updated · The National Law Review · Aug 19
EEOC Removes 1979 Affirmative Action Guidelines From Federal Rules as Title VII Concerns Mount
3 articles · Updated · The National Law Review · Aug 19
Summary
July 6 brought the EEOC’s final rule immediately deleting its 1979 affirmative action guidelines and related manual from the Code of Federal Regulations after a June 29 commission vote.
The agency said the guidance no longer matched Title VII and conflicted with Supreme Court rulings, including a 2025 decision stressing that the law protects every individual equally.
For employers, the change erases the EEOC’s long-standing safe harbor for voluntary affirmative action plans, increasing litigation risk around race- or sex-conscious diversity programs.
Voluntary affirmative action is not categorically illegal, but companies now must justify programs under existing case law, document neutral job-related decisions, and check stricter state and local rules.
With the EEOC safe harbor gone, how will companies legally protect diversity programs from a sudden wave of workplace discrimination lawsuits?
Employers must still collect demographic data but cannot use affirmative action guidelines; will this hidden paradox trigger unprecedented corporate legal battles?