EEOC Votes to Rescind Anti-Harassment Guidance
Following the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) restoration of a quorum at the end of 2025, on January 22, 2026, the EEOC voted 2-1 to rescind previously issued guidance relating to workplace harassment. The guidance had been issued in 2024 and provided employers with extensive information on what types of actions might constitute workplace harassment. It was the first update to anti-harassment guidance issued by the EEOC since 1999.
The EEOC’s January 2026 decision does not invalidate the federal laws underlying the 2024 guidance, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and federal (or state-specific) case law issued during the 25 years prior to the 2024 guidance’s issuance. Instead, it removes access to a comprehensive resource for employers to consult when seeking to understand what laws they are subject to and, when a complaint comes in, what to do about it. In the wake of the EEOC’s action, engaging with legal counsel or third-party investigations firms that specialize in conducting workplace investigations is perhaps more important than ever. While the EEOC’s priorities may have shifted, the enduring legal landscape has not eliminated the risk of liability for employers facing complaints of workplace harassment.
EEOC Litigation Approval Process Update
On January 23, 2026, the EEOC voted 2-1 to modify its procedure for initiating or intervening in litigation. EEOC field office attorneys previously enjoyed discretion to select the cases in which their offices would become involved. According to the EEOC’s press release, the new procedure “returns to the EEOC Chair and Commissioners the authority to approve or disapprove new and intervening litigation,” shifting power away from field offices and the EEOC General Counsel to the Commission. This procedural shift allows the EEOC to more effectively execute the Trump administration’s litigation priorities by consolidating decision-making authority among the most powerful members of the Commission.
Federal Trade Commission Issues Warning to 42 Law Firms Regarding DEI Programs
On January 30, 2026, The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a press release stating that it had sent written warnings to 42 law firms regarding “potentially unfair and anticompetitive employment practices.” The FTC said the recipient firms were some of the largest in the US with over 50,000 attorneys collectively employed among them. These firms had obtained “Mansfield Certification,” a certification provided by Diversity Lab, a private company offering data-driven hiring and retention practices to law firms and legal departments. The Data Lab’s website describes the Mansfield Certification as “a science-backed and data-driven solution that helps boost inclusivity, access, and diversity in leadership at participating law firms.”
The FTC said its warning letters “remind[ed] law firms that collusion in hiring practices, including through competitors coordinating on the personal characteristics of their candidate pools and sharing sensitive information about pay and benefits, can violate antitrust laws,” which the agency stated was in line with its mission to “promote competition, and to protect and educate consumers.”
Executive Order Regarding AI
On December 11, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order (“EO”), Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence. With states enacting their own AI regulatory statutes, the EO that seeks to establish a unified federal approach to AI policy rather than a patchwork of confusing legal requirements across various states. The EO’s states that it is US policy “to sustain and enhance United States’ global AI dominance” by promoting a minimally burdensome national framework for AI development and deployment rather than a patchwork of divergent state regulations. To achieve this, it directs the Secretary of Commerce to evaluate existing state AI laws and identify state laws deemed inconsistent with the EO’s stated federal policy. The EO directs the U.S. Attorney General to establish an AI Litigation Task Force within 30 days of the EO to challenge such laws. Furthermore, the EO directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue a Policy Notice specifying conditions states must meet in order to be eligible for remaining funding under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, part of the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enacted in 2021.
Sources:
https://www.employmentlawworldview.com/quick-hits-updates-at-the-eeoc-and-nlrb-to-start-2026-us/
https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-commission-adopts-resolution-require-commission-approval-almost-all-litigation
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/01/federal-trade-commission-chairman-andrew-n-ferguson-issues-warning-letters-law-firms-anticompetitive
https://www.diversitylab.com/what-we-do/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/eliminating-state-law-obstruction-of-national-artificial-intelligence-policy/
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48666