The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published three final rules today, August 21, 2026, rescinding the decades-old Executive Order 11246 regulations and making updates to federal contractor AAP requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
As a result of President Trump’s Executive Order 14173, which revoked Executive Order 11246, the OFCCP has now officially removed the regulatory requirements related to race- and gender-based AAPs for federal contractors. The recission is effective October 26, 2026. Importantly, the OFCCP’s explanation for why it is making this change does not impact an employer’s ability to collect and evaluate workforce data by race and gender to evaluate compliance with other federal laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or to comply with state AAP and other reporting requirements.
The OFCCP also finalized updates to the regulations under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA), which requires that federal contractors take affirmative steps to provide equal employment opportunity to protected veterans. The OFCCP’s regulations implementing this statutory requirement require federal contractors to prepare data analyses as part of their annual affirmative action plans for protected veterans. The OFCCP’s final rule does not change these obligations, and to remain in compliance, federal contractors must:
The changes made by OFCCP’s final VEVRAA rule are largely technical in nature. For example, the rule updates the coverage threshold from $150,000 to $200,000, a change which had previously been announced by the Department of Labor as part of a series of routine, required inflationary adjustments to coverage thresholds made in October 2025. Pursuant to this update, contractors with 50 or more employees and a covered contract of $200,000 or more must continue to prepare annual affirmative action plans for protected veterans.
The rule also removes references to EO 11246 and makes other updates to include administrative enforcement procedures in the VEVRAA regulations rather than relying on reference to the EO 11246 regulations. These changes do not create new enforcement procedures but preserve the prior framework OFCCP used to determine federal contractor compliance with their VEVRAA obligations.
The OFCCP also finalized updates to the regulations under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 503), which requires that federal contractors take affirmative steps to provide equal employment opportunity to individuals with disabilities. The OFCCP’s regulations implementing this statutory requirement require federal contractors to prepare annual affirmative action plans for individuals with disabilities. The OFCCP’s final rule modifies these requirements, but importantly, federal contractors must continue to prepare annual AAPs for each establishment.
Effective September 21, 2026, the final rule makes the following changes to federal contractor responsibilities:
However, contractors still must comply with the nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation obligations. They also must continue to complete an assessment of their outreach and recruitment efforts for individuals with disabilities as part of their annual AAP. The final rule provides some examples of steps federal contractors should consider to remain in compliance:
Contractors should use these regulation updates as an opportunity to reassess their compliance obligations under VEVRAA and Section 503. For example, contractors will want to take steps to stop using the Form CC-305 for disability self-identification. As part of this process, contractors will want to revisit the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for soliciting disability information and any state requirements regarding the reporting of disability status information, such as the requirement for Minnesota contractors to submit annual compliance reports which must include certain data by job group, race, sex, and disability.
Contractors should also take time to ensure they follow their remaining obligations under VEVRAA and Section 503. Despite the uncertainty surrounding OFCCP, the agency continues to have authority to investigate contractor compliance with their veteran and disability AAP requirements, and the agency is actively investigating individual complaints under both VEVRAA and Section 503. It is also important to remember that federal contractors certify their compliance with Section 503 and VEVRAA obligations directly through representations and certifications in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) database. Even as administrative enforcement shifts, maintaining active registration and truthful attestations in SAM remains a mandatory legal prerequisite for federal contracting eligibility.
Berkshire is continuing to evaluate the impact of these changes and will share additional insights as we learn them.