On August 21, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rules rescinding the Office of Contract Compliance Program’s (OFCCP) regulations for Executive Order (EO) 11246, substantially revising Section 503 regulations, and issuing technical revisions to its Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) regulations.
EO 11246 Regulations
The DOL finalized the rescission of its EO 11246 regulations, effective on October 26, 2026. This eliminates federal contractors’ obligations to prepare affirmative action plans based on race and sex as well as the nondiscrimination provisions and additional compliance obligations. In the rescission, the DOL eliminated the only regulations that included the Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP). This aligns with EO 14373, which President Trump issued on January 21, 2025, to rescind EO 11246 after 60 years.
Section 503 of Rehabilitation Act
The DOL finalized the elimination of the disability self-identification requirements, 7% utilization goal, and the required self-identification CC-305 Form. It based the changes on its opinion that the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) prohibits federal contractors from collecting voluntary disability identification from applicants and employees to comply with their affirmative action obligations. It held this opinion despite the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Office of Legal Counsel—which interprets the ADA for other agencies—held self-identification wouldn’t violate the ADA. Federal contractors will retain the obligation to assess their outreach and recruitment of individuals with disabilities annually. The rule will be finalized on September 21, 2026.
Section 503 retains its nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation requirements. Federal contractors with 50 or more employees and $50,000 or more in contracts will continue to be required to prepare affirmative action plans. In addition, the DOL amended the Section 503 regulations to add the administrative procedures provisions from rescinded EO 11246 regulations, effective December 21, 2026.
VEVRAA
The DOL’s revisions to the VEVRAA regulations were mostly technical and become effective on September 21, 2026. Unlike Section 503, federal contractors under VEVRAA retain the obligation to offer voluntary self-identification of veterans—even disabled veterans—and to prepare affirmative action plans as well as annual assessments. The DOL updated the jurisdictional threshold from $150,000 to $200,000 as well as adding the administrative procedures from the former EO 11246 regulations.
Conclusion
Despite the overwhelming objections to the changes proposed for Section 503, the DOL finalized the proposal without change. This continues the Trump administration’s aggressive moves to eliminate data collection and analysis based on protected categories.