Labor & Employment Developments Blog

On June 4, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) approved its new National Enforcement Plan (“NEP”) for Fiscal Years 2025–2029, replacing the agency’s prior Strategic Enforcement Plan. The NEP establishes the EEOC’s nationwide enforcement priorities and signals a significant shift in how the agency intends to investigate and litigate employment discrimination claims. Although the NEP applies to employers across industries, its implications may be particularly significant for health care organizations, many of which operate federally funded workforce programs or maintain longstanding diversity initiatives.

Most notably, the EEOC identifies remedying DEI-related race and sex discrimination as one of its enforcement priorities. The agency also states that it will prioritize intentional discrimination (disparate treatment) claims while limiting the use of disparate impact theories “to the maximum degree possible,” consistent with recent Executive Orders and the current Administration’s enforcement priorities. Although the NEP does not change Title VII or other federal anti-discrimination laws, it provides employers with an important roadmap for how the EEOC intends to focus its enforcement resources.

A More Centralized Enforcement Approach

The NEP adopts a nationwide enforcement model, replacing district-specific priorities with a single national framework. The EEOC may reassign investigations across districts based on workload or expertise and may initiate investigations through Commissioner Charges without first receiving an employee complaint. This centralized approach enhances the agency’s ability to identify and pursue priority matters nationwide.

DEI Programs Receive Increased Attention

The NEP identifies programs labeled or framed as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (“DEI”) or similar initiatives as potential enforcement priorities where they involve race- or sex-based preferences. Examples include:

• hiring, promotion, and layoff decisions involving demographic quotas or preferences;
• leadership development, mentorship, internship, fellowship, and apprenticeship programs with race- or sex-based eligibility criteria;
• diverse slate or hiring panel requirements;
• diversity statements used in hiring decisions;
• demographic data shared with managers for employment decision-making; and
• executive compensation tied to demographic hiring or promotion goals.

The NEP does not prohibit lawful DEI initiatives. Rather, it signals increased scrutiny of employment decisions involving protected characteristics.

Why Health Care Employers Should Pay Particular Attention

The NEP presents unique compliance considerations for health care organizations, many of which participate in federally funded workforce development initiatives or maintain longstanding diversity recruitment programs. Organizations should review federally funded workforce programs – including Health Resources and Services Administration and National Institutes of Health grants, residency and fellowship programs, internships, scholarships, and pipeline initiatives that incorporate demographic selection criteria or hiring metrics—as well as targeted recruiting efforts, diversity hiring goals, leadership development and mentorship programs, executive compensation metrics tied to workforce demographics, and DEI training and communications. Many of these initiatives were developed under prior federal policy priorities.

Health care employers should ensure they remain consistent with current enforcement priorities, including the certification requirements of Executive Order 14173, while distinguishing lawful outreach and recruitment efforts from programs that provide preferences or limit opportunities based on protected characteristics.

Key Takeaways

The NEP does not change federal anti-discrimination law or prohibit lawful DEI initiatives. It does, however, signal increased EEOC scrutiny of employment practices involving protected characteristics, particularly for employers with federally funded workforce programs or longstanding DEI initiatives. In light of the NEP, employers should consider conducting a review of DEI-related policies and programs, hiring and promotion practices, public DEI statements, and grant obligations, including certifications under Executive Order 14173, to assess compliance with current enforcement priorities.

KMK’s Labor & Employment team is closely monitoring these developments and is available to assist employers with compliance reviews, risk assessments, and evaluating existing DEI initiatives.