EEOC Rescinds Longstanding Affirmative Action Guidance

July 1, 2026

What's New

The EEOC has rescinded two longstanding agency documents that for decades guided EEOC staff in evaluating affirmative action-related initiatives:

• the 1979 Guidelines on Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII, which set out the agency’s framework for evaluating voluntary affirmative action plans; and
• Compliance Manual Section 607, containing internal charge-processing instructions that explained how EEOC staff should evaluate Title VII charges involving affirmative action plans.

Together, the guidance provided a framework for evaluating voluntary affirmative action plans. In rescinding the guidance, the Commission said the materials were inconsistent with Title VII’s text and subsequent Supreme Court precedent.

What It Means

The rescissions do not change Title VII itself or case law interpreting it, but they remove the EEOC’s longstanding framework for evaluating voluntary affirmative action plans and reinforce the agency’s increased scrutiny of race-, sex-, and national-origin-conscious employment practices.

For most employers, the practical impact may be limited because many were unlikely to have known about, much less relied on, these materials. Employers that did rely on them should not assume that they remain available as the basis for a future good-faith reliance defense under Title VII.

What You Should Do

Employers should confirm whether any policies, plans, or legal analyses rely on the rescinded EEOC materials and update those references as appropriate. They should also review any race-, sex-, or national-origin-conscious initiatives to ensure they rest on current legal authority and a well-documented rationale. CWC’s DEI Risk Assessment Package can help employers address related compliance risks.

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