EEOC Rescinds Long-Standing Affirmative Action Guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is continuing its journey back to the 1960s.

On June 29 the Republican-controlled EEOC voted to remove guidelines from section 607 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, claiming in a press release that they contradict Title VII and violate Supreme Court precedent.

The guidelines were issued in a 1979 rule to offer employers a three-step process for implementing affirmative action programs. Rescinding them means employers are without a valuable tool to combat workplace discrimination, Kalpana Kotagal, the sole democrat EEOC commissioner, wrote on LinkedIn. She further argued that the guidelines were necessary to prevent present-day discrimination.

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