The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has voted to rescind the agency interpretive guidelines titled “Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Amended” (Affirmative Action Guidelines) and the related “Compliance Manual Section 607 on Affirmative Action” (Compliance Manual on Affirmative Action).

The Commission said that the Affirmative Action Guidelines ran afoul of the text of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and contradicted Supreme Court case law that has developed over the four decades since the Affirmative Action Guidelines were issued. The EEOC asserted the stated purpose of the Affirmative Action Guidelines in 1979 was to protect “employers, labor organizations, and other persons subject to Title VII [who] have changed their employment practices and systems to improve employment opportunities for minorities and women” via “race, sex, or national origin conscious ... decisions.” Yet, the Supreme Court has held Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides the “same protections for every ‘individual.’”

The Commission also voted to rescind the related Compliance Manual on Affirmative Action, made obsolete in light of the rescission of the Affirmative Action Guidelines.

The recission means employers can no longer use the EEOC’s own framework to show that a voluntary plan is reasonable under the law. Moreover, the EEOC will not use those rescinded guidelines to protect any employment practice from scrutiny. The Commission’s 2026 enforcement priorities have explicitly stated the EEOC will focus on policies labeled or framed as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Employers should review their affirmative action or diversity polices to ensure they still comply with current law and EEOC guidance.