EEOC Releases New National Enforcement Plan

On June 4, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved a new National Enforcement Plan (NEP) for fiscal years 2025–2029, replacing the prior 2024–2028 Strategic Enforcement Plan.

The NEP formally shifts the agency’s enforcement priorities toward intentional discrimination claims, also known as disparate treatment, while reducing focus on disparate impact claims. It also identifies certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices as enforcement targets.

This update applies to all employers covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other statutes enforced by the EEOC, effective June 4, 2026.

What Employers Need to Do

• Review hiring, promotion, compensation, layoff, and accommodation policies to identify any practices that could be characterized as involving race-, sex-, or other protected-characteristic-based decision-making.

• Audit DEI-related programs, including diverse-slate policies, diversity hiring panels, required diversity statements, and compensation tied to demographic goals, for intentional-discrimination risk under the NEP’s enforcement framework.

• Train HR staff and managers in the distinction between lawful equal-opportunity practices and practices the EEOC now considers potential intentional discrimination.

• Continue monitoring state and local anti-discrimination laws, which may still support disparate impact claims even as federal enforcement of that theory decreases.

• Track future EEOC guidance and litigation activity, as the NEP remains in effect until the Commission changes or withdraws it.

Overview

What the NEP Changes

• The EEOC rescinded the prior Strategic Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Years 2024–2028 and replaced it with the National Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Years 2025–2029.

• The agency states it will prioritize disparate treatment claims and limit use of disparate impact theories in investigations and litigation to the extend allowed by law.

• The NEP ties this shift to Executive Order 14281, Restoring Equality of Opportunity, and Meritocracy, issued on April 23, 2025, which directs agencies to deprioritize disparate impact enforcement to the extent allowed by law.

• The agency also adopts a nationwide enforcement model, meaning it may reassign cases across district offices or use headquarters staff to support priority investigations or litigation.

DEI-Related Enforcement Targets

• The NEP identifies broad-based employment policies, programs, or practices labeled or framed as DEI or similar terms as a priority enforcement area.

• Specific examples listed in the signed plan include:

• Race- or sex-based quotas, including so-called aspirational goals that function as quotas.
• Limiting access to training, internships, fellowships, mentorship, sponsorship, apprenticeships, bonuses, or employer-sponsored groups based on protected characteristics.
• Diverse-slate policies, diverse hiring panels, required diversity statements, evaluation rubrics that consider protected characteristics, race or sex data shared beyond HR or legal, and compensation tied to demographic goals.

Other Priority Areas

• Repeated or overt discrimination, including facially discriminatory policies, discriminatory job advertisements, and systemic harassment.

• Preferences for guest worker visa holders or Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) applicants in hiring.

• Vulnerable workers, including teenage workers, low-wage workers, survivors of sexual assault, and workers with developmental or intellectual disabilities.

• Retaliation against individuals participating in EEOC proceedings or opposing unlawful discrimination.

• Unresolved legal questions tied to recent Supreme Court decisions, including Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, Muldrow v. St. Louis, Students for Fair Admissions, Groff v. DeJoy, and Bostock v. Clayton County.

• The scope of liability under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).

Broader Federal Context

• This NEP fits into a broader enforcement direction that began before the plan’s release. In March 2025, the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued technical assistance stating that DEI initiatives may be unlawful under Title VII if they involve employment actions motivated by race, sex, or another protected characteristic.

• In February 2026, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas sent a reminder letter to Fortune 500 leadership reiterating those Title VII obligations and directing companies to the DEI-related technical assistance materials.

Why This Matters

The NEP redirects the EEOC’s enforcement focus on intentional discrimination and identifies certain DEI-related practices as priority enforcement areas through fiscal year 2029.

This does not change the text of Title VII or any other statute the EEOC enforces, but it does change what the agency says it will emphasize when deciding which cases to pursue. Employers should also be aware that state and local laws may still support disparate impact claims, so federal deprioritization of that theory does not eliminate the risk entirely.

Key Risks for Employers

• DEI Program Exposure: Employers with programs involving race- or sex-based quotas, diverse-slate policies, diversity hiring panels, or compensation tied to demographic goals now face heightened federal enforcement attention.

• Misreading the Shift as a Safe Harbor: The deprioritization of disparate impact at the federal level does not eliminate that theory under state or local law, and employers may still face claims under those frameworks.

• Nationwide Enforcement Reach: The EEOC’s new model allows reassignment of matters across offices, meaning employers in any region could face enforcement action regardless of where the investigation originated.

• Retaliation Risk: The NEP identifies retaliation as a standalone enforcement priority, which means employers who take adverse action against employees involved in EEOC proceedings face heightened scrutiny.

• Evolving Legal Landscape: The NEP ties enforcement priorities to recent Supreme Court decisions that are still being interpreted, meaning the scope of what the EEOC considers unlawful may continue to shift.

Source References

• EEOC Press Release – EEOC Releases New National Enforcement Plan (June 4, 2026)
• EEOC NEP pdf (June 4, 2026)

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