In a bulletin issued on November 25, 2025, the OFCCP announced that, as of October 1, 2025, the federal contractor and subcontractor jurisdictional thresholds for individuals with disabilities pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 503”), and for protected veterans under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act…

As of October 1, 2025, we are in federal government shutdown.  During previous government shutdowns, government agencies and departments issued stop-work orders, grinding work on government projects and contracts to a halt.  Contractors were then faced with the difficult task of remaining in compliance with their obligations to their employees…

The U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”), Civil Division, has started issuing Civil Investigative Demands (“CIDs”) to federal contractors and grant recipients, seeking detailed information about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) practices. This move is part of the DOJ’s recently launched Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which aims to enforce compliance with federal civil rights…

On July 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14319, which has the stated purpose of preventing the federal government from procuring A.I. “models that sacrifice truthfulness and accuracy to ideological agendas.”  The order specifically targets models that incorporate principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), asserting that such frameworks may compromise factual accuracy and reliability. Under the executive order, federal agencies can procure large language models (LLMs) only if they: (1) are “truthful in responding to user prompts seeking factual information or analysis,” “prioritiz[ing] historical accuracy, scientific inquiry, and objectivity, and [] acknowledg[ing] uncertainty where reliable information is incomplete or contradictory,” and (2) are “neutral, nonpartisan tools that do not manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas such as DEI.” …

On July 29, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” (the “Memorandum”), responding to the federal government’s recent practice, as Attorney General Bondi puts it, of “turn[ing] a blind eye toward, or even encourag[ing], various discriminatory practices…

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has released its 2025 Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) national benchmark.  Effective July 30, 2025, the new benchmark is 5.1%, a slight decrease from 2024’s 5.2% benchmark.  This is OFCCP’s tenth reduction of the national benchmark, which has steadily declined…

On July 30, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) must disclose federal contractor EEO-1 Reports requested by the Center for Investigative Reporting (“CIR”). The court held that the EEO-1 Reports are not protected from disclosure under the FOIA exemption…

Federal contractors and subcontractors meeting the VEVRAA eligibility threshold of having at least one federal contract totaling $150,000 or more (“Covered Contractors”) must annually file a VETS-4212 Report, which provides a breakdown of a Covered Contractor’s workforce based on protected veteran status.  According to the VETS-4212 Portal, the VETS-4212…

On June 11, 2025, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate issued a memorandum entitled Civil Division Enforcement Priorities (the “Memorandum”), outlining five areas of focus for Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Civil Division investigations and enforcement actions. Among these priorities is “combatting unlawful discriminatory practices in the private sector.”

Referencing President Donald…