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On June 4th, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan (NEP). The NEP sets the EEOC’s specific subject-matter priorities from June through fiscal year 2029. Importantly, the recent National Enforcement Plan replaces the agency’s fiscal year 2024-2028 Strategic Enforcement Plan, which was released in 2023. Broadly, the EEOC’s enforcement efforts include equal employment opportunity (EEO) protections for all protected classes under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and other federal EEO laws. While the National Enforcement Plan covers specific, focused target areas, it also provides an overall framework for how the agency plans to operate to achieve its mission.
Background of the 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan
In summary, the National Enforcement Plan serves as a framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission to prevent and remedy employment discrimination through enforcement activities. The EEOC’s mission also includes using education and outreach to prevent employment discrimination and advance equal employment opportunities. The agency creates the plan every four fiscal years using three values that form the basis of the agency’s culture and guide its daily work:
- commitment to equal employment opportunity,
- accountability, and
- integrity
Additionally, the EEOC’s National Enforcement Plan lays the foundation for developing more detailed annual plans, budgets, and related program performance information in the future.
"The National Enforcement Plan reaffirms the agency’s unwavering commitment to merit-based, evenhanded enforcement of our nation’s civil rights laws,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “By prioritizing intentional discrimination and underscoring that every worker must be treated as an individual under the law, this plan sharpens the agency’s focus on protecting equal opportunity for all Americans. It strategically directs enforcement resources toward the most serious and consequential unlawful employment practices to better safeguard workers’ civil rights nationwide.”
Overview of the Previous 2024-2028 Strategic Enforcement Plan
Accordingly, the 2024-2028 Strategic Enforcement Plan updated and enhanced an earlier Strategic Enforcement Plan, informed by public feedback. In response to what the agency recognized as a national call for racial and economic justice, the EEOC’s plan focused on combating pay discrimination and advancing equal pay. Additionally, the agency continued its efforts to prevent discrimination, systemic harassment, and retaliation. Other changes in the 2024-2028 Strategic Enforcement Plan included the following:
- A focus on discrimination, bias, and negative sentiment towards religious minorities, racial or ethnic groups, LGBTQI+ individuals, and individuals with Long COVID;
- Protecting additional categories of workers who are currently underserved by federal EEO laws;
- Continued enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act(PWFA) and other protections for pregnant workers;
- Further efforts to address the underrepresentation of women and people of color in construction, manufacturing, finance, technology, science, engineering, and mathematics;
- Continued focus on artificial intelligence tools in hiring and other employment decisions; and
- Preserving workers’ rights to pursue legal remedies by limiting non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements.
However, with the signing of the 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan, all focus on the areas listed above has ended and will be replaced by the specific topics included in the new NEP.
What Topics Does the New 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan Include?
As mentioned earlier, the NEP identifies several categories of priorities. Specifically, in some situations, the EEOC will prioritize cases that involve the following:
- Overt discrimination in job advertisements
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs (or similar) that use race- or sex-based quotas in all aspects of employment
- Reliance on recent or developing Supreme Court decisions
- The workplace rights of all employees when they involve LGBTQ+ issues
- The prioritization of disparate treatment liability
Finally, the new NEP makes it clear that the EEOC is an executive branch agency. It is not an independent or quasi-independent body. It will use its enforcement authority to advance the policy objectives and executive orders of the current administration.
Employer Takeaways
In conclusion, the 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan outlines the priorities the EEOC plans to pursue over the next three years. Although EEOC Chair Lucas previously discussed many of the topics included in the NEP in earlier news releases and agency guidance, employers must ensure they comply with the EEOC’s mandates under the plan. Explicitly, employers may want to review their own equal employment policies and procedures to ensure they align with the agency's priorities. Consulting with your legal team and discussing the new National Enforcement Plan may also be preferable.
To assist employers, WorkWise Compliance now offers a selection of monthly and annual compliance plans to help businesses address their legal obligations under workplace laws, including virtual consulting services on important labor law compliance topics. These services can help affected businesses address current and proposed EEOC regulations on proper labor practices.
