EEOC Changes Are Coming - but When?

Categories: Employee Benefits, Employment Compliance

What employers should know about key developments this week:

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Regulatory Agenda: The EEOC is pursuing sweeping changes aligned with the current administration’s deregulatory priorities, including rescission of decades-old guidance on discrimination.
EEO-1 Reporting Changes: A proposed rule to eliminate EEO-1 and companion reporting requirements is in the public comment stage (comments are due August 24), but employers should maintain current data collection practices pending final action.
Revisions to Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Regulations: The EEOC’s regulatory agenda includes plans to revise the PWFA regulations, although it offers little detail beyond reinterpreting the words “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The EEOC expects to issue its proposed revisions in November.

In this episode of Employment Law This Week®, Epstein Becker Green attorney Ann Knuckles Mahoney breaks down the EEOC’s stated regulatory priorities and what employers should do while changes move through the regulatory pipeline.

Change Is Coming from the EEOC—but When?
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August 5, 2026
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Transcript

[00:00:03] George Whipple: Welcome to Employment Law This Week. I’m George Whipple. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is poised for a dramatic transition, but when? And exactly how much change? That’s what we’re looking into this week. In July, the current administration released a Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for 2026.

[00:00:31] George Whipple: This sweeping agenda involves dozens of agencies and hundreds of regulatory revisions designed to advance the administration’s objectives. The EEOC has been clear about its alignment with the administration’s agenda, putting it at the forefront of this transition. A National Enforcement Plan published in June lays out the Commission’s priorities, which include “remedying DEI-related race and sex discrimination” and “protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination.”

[00:01:07] George Whipple: The EEOC is not shying away from changing rules and guidance that employers have worked under for decades. The Commission has already rescinded its 1979 affirmative action guidelines, and recently announced plans to eliminate data collection that it has required for 60 years. Still, much of this action is in the planning or proposed stage, which generates uncertainty for employers.

[00:01:36] George Whipple: We asked Epstein Becker Green’s Ann Knuckles Mahoney to look at a few key areas of the EEOC’s regulatory agenda and help employers figure out what we know and what we don’t.

[00:01:48] Ann Knuckles Mahoney: The agenda does not on its own provide any new or removed regulations, but instead signals the EEOC’s intent for future action. Further, it doesn’t change any existing laws. Thus, any employer action relating to what’s set forth in this regulatory agenda should depend on further EEOC action and consideration of the laws that remain intact.

[00:02:11] George Whipple: The EEOC’s agenda includes ten projects that are in various stages of development. One item at the final rule stage is the rescission of the 1980 Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin. Employers should expect EEOC action on this soon. What other changes will we see in the near future, Ann?

[00:02:34] Ann Knuckles Mahoney: On July 23, the EEOC formally issued its proposed rule to rescind and remove the requirements for filing of the EEO-1 and its companion EEO reports, as well as the recordkeeping and record preservation requirements related to those reports. A public hearing on this proposed rule is scheduled on August 11, and employers can submit comments until August 24. While employers await final EEOC action and monitor for any subsequent litigation on the reporting requirement, they should continue their current data collection procedures.

[00:03:06] George Whipple: If and when this rule becomes final, employers will still need to comply with any state laws that require collection of demographic information. Tracking this data is also useful in defending against lawsuits. Another item on the agenda is a proposal to revise the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. There has been a lot of debate and litigation around that one.

[00:03:31] Ann Knuckles Mahoney: The abstract summarizing these proposed changes provides little detail other than revising language in the regulations regarding the interpretation of the words “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” However, EEOC chair Andrea Lucas has been vocal about her opposition to certain parts of the PWFA regulations, finding the rules to be overly broad. Likely changes include narrowing of the definition of “related medical conditions” and removal of accommodations for abortions, menstruation, menopause, and contraception.

[00:04:03] George Whipple: We’ll keep watching this one, but it’s likely that nothing will change for the PWFA this year. The agency is aiming to issue its proposed revisions in November with a public comment period ending sometime in January. As changes at the EEOC and other employment agencies move from statements to proposals to final rules and guidance, we’ll keep you updated with all the information that employers need to know. Thanks, Ann. And thank you for watching. We’ll see you next time.

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