Workforce Bulletin

On August 21, 2026, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published three final rules on behalf of the Department of Labor (DOL), formally rescinding longstanding policies to align regulations governing federal contracts with the Administration’s goals. The new rules, respectively, formally rescinded the implementing affirmative action regulations of Executive Order (EO) 11246, and significantly changed portions of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).

“BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color),” “Minorities,” “Native,” “Tribal,” “Indigenous,” “Immigrant,” “LGBTQ,” “Homosexual,” and “Gay.” 

These were the search terms utilized by the federal government to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in federal funding, all while using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to target those funds. In a stunning rebuke of such discriminatory practices, the District Court for the Southern District of New York found in American Council of Learned Societies v. McDonald (ACLS), that the record established “beyond any dispute, that the Government used protected characteristics as criteria for identifying grants for termination. DOGE swept in race and ethnicity—including grants concerning Black, Asian, Latino, and Indigenous communities—as well as national origin and immigration status; religion and religious identity (including Jewish, Christian, and Muslim subjects); sex; and sexual orientation, as criteria for grant termination.” The federal government terminated grants involving African, Asian, and South American countries—as well as grants relating to Indigenous Americans and Jewish women—while retaining grants involving Western European subjects.

A Case Study of Missouri v. Starbucks Corp. and the Compliance Challenges Ahead

The Missouri Attorney General’s (AG’s) Office recently learned this lesson in Missouri v. Starbucks Corp., when its Title VII anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) case against Starbucks was dismissed by a federal district court judge.