Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued an updated National Enforcement Plan (NEP) explaining the agency’s priorities and resource concentration through fiscal year 2029. The new NEP replaces the plan issued during the Biden administration.

The NEP confirms the agency’s move away from prioritization of traditional discrimination against minority groups to a focus on reverse discrimination claims involving protected classifications consisting of majority demographics. These priorities include investigation and prosecution of claims involving alleged reverse discrimination resulting from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, protecting American workers from practices intended to favor foreign labor, investigating policies that allow transgender persons to occupy traditionally single-sex spaces, and failure to provide religious accommodations.

The NEP reiterates the EEOC’s restrictions on only considering intentional disparate treatment to violate federal civil rights laws, excluding investigation or prosecution of disparate impact or other unintentional discrimination claims. Unlike prior NEPs, the new plan establishes uniform nationwide enforcement priorities. Previously, the EEOC allowed regional offices to set local enforcement priorities based on regional demographics and business practices.

The new NEP can be found here. 

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