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.

On February 11, 2026, the EEOC released guidance addressing telework as a reasonable accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), providing a framework for employers managing return-to-office requests. The guidance clarifies that telework may be required as a reasonable accommodation when it is necessary for an employee to perform the essential functions of the position or to access equal employment opportunities and benefits. It further explains that telework is not required where the essential functions must be performed on-site or where the request is based solely on preference or on general symptom management. The guidance also affirms employers may re-evaluate and modify or discontinue previously approved telework arrangements through the interactive process.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has voted to rescind its anti-harassment guidance that previously stated misgendering employees could constitute unlawful discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The decision marks a significant rollback of Biden-era workplace protections for LGBTQ+ employees and continues a broader shift in federal enforcement priorities under the second Trump administration.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has eliminated any remaining uncertainty about its 2026 enforcement priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In a December 18, 2025 interview with Reuters, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas emphasized the EEOC’s position that workplace initiatives using race, sex, or other protected characteristics as “motivating factors” in employment decisions are unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Chair Lucas also clearly signaled that employers maintaining such initiatives can expect to be subject to investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation throughout 2026. This announcement is in furtherance of executive orders issued by President Trump and guidance released by the EEOC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2025, which effectively outlawed the majority of DEI programs.

In November 2025, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new technical assistance document titled “Discrimination Against American Workers Is Against the Law” and updated its webpage on the topic.  The new materials underscore the EEOC’s position that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects all workers from discriminatory conduct including American workers.  Further, the new release is consistent with the recent focus on perceived anti-American bias.  

As we previously reported, in April 2024 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Among other things, the rule stated that employers may be required to accommodate employees for abortion, treating it as a pregnancy-related condition.

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” directing federal agencies to effectively end the use of “disparate impact” liability in enforcing anti-discrimination laws. This order marks a significant shift in how employers must assess their employment policies and practices, as well as how those policies and practices impact employees.

On March 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Justice issued guidance addressing unlawful discrimination related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) in the workplace. Although DEI is not defined in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it has recently come under significant scrutiny. This guidance was released two days after the EEOC sent correspondence to certain large law firms requesting information regarding DEI-related employment practices.

On March 17, 2025, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) Acting Chair, Andrea Lucas, sent letters to 20 large law firms requesting information concerning each firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) related employment practices.   These letters follow a March 6 executive order issued by President Trump which directed the EEOC to look at “large, influential, or industry leading law firms” for “compliance with race-based and sex-based non-discrimination laws.”

In his first fifty days in office, President Trump has taken numerous actions to consolidate the power of the Executive Branch. Shortly after taking office, he dismissed heads of multiple Executive Branch agencies and asserted that agency leaders must align with his Administration’s objectives.  While President Trump’s authority to replace many Executive Branch officials is unquestioned, his authority to remove appointees to independent agencies is less clear.