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Labor Department, Federal Contract Compliance Programs Office

Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations

Published August 21, 2026. Takes effect October 26, 2026, printed at 91 FR 54444, amending 41 CFR 60. 39,498 words.

In plain English

An order on hiring by race and sex was undone. This drops the rules that ran it.

Read it at the Federal Register →

What the Rule Says It Does

On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," which revoked Executive Order 11246. Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Labor publishes this final rule to rescind the implementing regulations for Executive Order 11246.

This is the rule's own summary, as the Federal Register prints it.

The Orders It Names

The rule names these orders itself. What it does about them is a reading, and none is recorded here.

On the Face of the Rule

As filed

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 161 (Friday, August 21, 2026)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 54444-54480] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-17114]

Vol. 91

Friday,

No. 161

August 21, 2026

Part II

Department of Labor

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

40 CFR Parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, et al.

Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations; Interim Final Rule

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

[Docket No. OFCCP-2025-0001]

41 CFR Parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, 60-20, 60-30, 60-40, 60-50, and 60-999

RIN 1250-AA17

Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations

AGENCY

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Labor.

ACTION

Final rule.

DATES

This rule is effective on October 26, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Kenneth Wolfe, Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: 202-693-0101. Email: [email protected].

The fields the Federal Register prints at the head of the rule, quoted as printed. Its summary is quoted above.

Why the Agency Says It Is Doing This

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Executive Summary

Prior to January 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) administered and enforced Executive Order (E.O.) 11246, as amended. Issued in 1965, and amended several times in the intervening years, E.O. 11246, and its implementing regulations at 41 CFR part 60-1 et seq., prohibited covered Federal contractors and subcontractors \1\ from discriminating against employees and applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or because they inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their compensation or that of others, subject to certain limitations. Contractors were also required to take certain affirmative actions to promote equal employment opportunity in their workplaces, as specified in 41 CFR part 60-2 and 41 CFR part 60-4.

\1\ Hereinafter, the term “contractor” is used to refer collectively to Federal contractors and subcontractors that fall under OFCCP's authority, unless otherwise expressly stated. This approach is consistent with OFCCP's regulations, which define “contract” to include subcontracts and “contractor” to include subcontractors.

On January 21, 2025, E.O. 14173 revoked E.O. 11246. Accordingly, this final rule rescinds the regulations implementing E.O. 11246 and modifies the administrative enforcement proceeding procedures at 41 CFR part 60-30 to remove the E.O. 11246 components. The Department also determined that significant portions of the E.O. 11246 regulatory framework are legally vulnerable because they are inconsistent with constitutional principles, civil rights law, and statutory authority.

The passage that opens the rule's preamble, where the agency sets out what it is doing and on what authority. Every heading that follows it is listed below.

What the Rule Contains

Every heading the Federal Register prints in this rule, in the order it prints them. 52 headings, 39,498 words in all.

  1. AGENCYOn its face · 8 words
  2. ACTIONOn its face · 3 words
  3. SUMMARYOn its face · 42 words
  4. DATESOn its face · 9 words
  5. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACTOn its face · 25 words
  6. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIONPreamble · 2 words
  7. I. Executive SummaryPreamble · 228 words
  8. II. BackgroundPreamble · 2 words
  9. A. E.O. 11246 and Development of Implementing RegulationsPreamble · 319 words
  10. B. Overview of Current RegulationsPreamble · 5 words
  11. 1. Affirmative Action ProvisionsPreamble · 2,585 words
  12. C. Notice of Proposed RulemakingPreamble · 380 words
  13. D. Executive Order 14398Preamble · 128 words
  14. III. Discussion of Public Comments and Reasons for RescissionPreamble · 365 words
  15. A. Revocation of E.O. 11246Preamble · 469 words
  16. B. The Affirmative Action Regulations Are UnlawfulPreamble · 7 words
  17. 1. The Nature of the Affirmative Action RegulationsPreamble · 7,008 words
  18. b. Affirmative Action Regulations Conflict With Title VI of the Civil Rights ActPreamble · 284 words
  19. C. Lack of Statutory Authority To Maintain Regulations Implementing E.O. 11246Preamble · 3,412 words
  20. b. Administrative Enforcement RegulationsPreamble · 4,202 words
  21. D. Effects of RescissionPreamble · 3,303 words
  22. 4. Regulatory Alternative and Reliance InterestsPreamble · 1,188 words
  23. IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory ReviewPreamble · 6 words
  24. A. Overview of Executive OrdersPreamble · 420 words
  25. B. Review Under E.O. 12866Preamble · 5 words
  26. 1. Executive Summary of AnalysisPreamble · 1,000 words
  27. d. Potential Effects on Contract and Employment DistributionPreamble · 394 words
  28. e. Benefits of RescissionPreamble · 470 words
  29. a. Supply and Service ContractorsPreamble · 709 words
  30. 3. Illustrative Cost-Savings and BenefitsPreamble · 346 words
  31. b. Hiring Delays, Labor Misallocation, and Productivity EffectsPreamble · 2,641 words
  32. C. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility ActPreamble · 358 words
  33. D. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction ActPreamble · 379 words
  34. E. Review Under E.O. 13132Preamble · 145 words
  35. F. Review Under E.O. 12988Preamble · 239 words
  36. G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform ActPreamble · 249 words
  37. H. Review Under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999Preamble · 77 words
  38. I. Review Under E.O. 12630Preamble · 50 words
  39. J. Review Under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001Preamble · 89 words
  40. K. Review Under E.O. 13175Preamble · 71 words
  41. L. Review Under Additional Executive Orders and Presidential MemorandaPreamble · 311 words
  42. List of SubjectsRegulatory text · 316 words
  43. General ProvisionsRegulatory text · 23 words
  44. Prehearing ProceduresRegulatory text · 54 words
  45. Hearings and Related MattersRegulatory text · 52 words
  46. Post-Hearing ProceduresRegulatory text · 29 words
  47. Expedited Hearing ProceduresRegulatory text · 45 words
  48. General ProvisionsRegulatory text · 435 words
  49. Prehearing ProceduresRegulatory text · 2,819 words
  50. Hearings and Related MattersRegulatory text · 2,287 words
  51. Post-Hearing ProceduresRegulatory text · 556 words
  52. Expedited Hearing ProceduresRegulatory text · 848 words

The Rest of the Text

This rule runs to 39,498 words. The rest of it is set out over 2 pages, split at the rule's own headings so that no heading is parted from the words printed under it.

How to cite this
  1. The rule itself

    Labor Department, Federal Contract Compliance Programs Office, “Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations,” 91 FR 54444 (August 21, 2026). Effective October 26, 2026.
    https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/21/2026-17114/rescission-of-executive-order-11246-implementing-regulations

  2. This page

    “Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations,” a final rule naming an order indexed here. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/rules/rule-2026-17114/ (retrieved October 10, 2026).

Cite the document when the claim is about what the document says. Cite this page when the indexing, the wording or the record of what has happened is what is being relied on.

How This Rule Is Set Out

Federal Register documents are United States government works and are not under copyright, so the rule is here whole rather than cut to an excerpt. It is split at the headings the Register itself prints: the line it is filed under, the captioned fields on its face, the preamble where the agency says what it is doing and why, and the amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations. No passage is shortened. This rule is long enough that its text is set out over 2 pages rather than one.

Two things the Register prints are not reproduced: the running head it repeats at every page break, and the tables it sets as pictures rather than as words. Its own marker for one of those tables, [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED], is left standing where the table was, so a reader can see that something is there and follow the link to the page it is on.

A heading with nothing quoted under it is one the rule prints on its own, with the words that follow it set under the headings beneath.