OFCCP Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking re Sex Discrimination Guidelines

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced the publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise and replace its Sex Discrimination Guidelines. The NPRM would rescind OFCCP’s guidelines on federal contractors’ obligations not to discriminate on the basis of sex under Executive Order 11246, as amended, and replace them with updated regulations. This update will be the first in more than four decades. It is expected to reflect present-day workplace realities and align OFCCP’s guidelines with current law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The proposed amendments will address compensation discrimination, sexual harassment, failure to provide workplace accommodations for pregnancy, and gender identity and family caregiving discrimination, among other topics.

The NPRM will be published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2015, and the public will have until March 31, 2015 (60 days) to provide comments.

Additional Sources: US Labor Department proposes critical updates to sex discrimination guidelines for federal contractors and subcontractors; OFCCP Proposes Updated Sex Discrimination Rule