Rescission of Guidelines on Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as Amended

What it does

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Commission") is rescinding its regulations regarding Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Guidelines"), and removing it from the Code of Federal Regulations. The Commission is rescinding the Guidelines and removing them from the Code of Federal Regulations because the Guidelines are inconsistent with the statutory language and were not supported by Supreme Court precedent when issued; they are obsolete; they only apply to affirmative action to benefit women or minorities; and they do not take into account multiple relevant Supreme Court cases and numerous developments in the lower courts, over the past four decades since their issuance in 1979.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

29 CFR 1608

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published 2 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 2 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 3046-AB39 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

This final interpretive rule is effective on July 6, 2026, and applicable as of June 29, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Title 29 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register