The State of the EEOC: Federal Sector Frequently Asked Questions

In the first two weeks of his second term, President Donald Trump swiftly issued a series of executive orders restoring even-handed civil rights enforcement in the federal government. Those orders direct federal agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to combat serious patterns of unlawful discrimination that have gone unchecked for far too long:  

• Executive Order 14148: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
• Executive Order 14151: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
• Executive Order 14168: Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
• Executive Order 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity 
• Executive Order 14188: Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism 

Many stakeholders have inquired about the EEOC’s reinvigorated role in the fight against unlawful workplace discrimination. The EEOC previously answered many general questions in The State of the EEOC: Frequently Asked Questions, published on Feb. 4, 2025. Additionally, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management simultaneously published a Memorandum on Further Guidance Regarding Ending DEIA Offices, Programs and Initiatives providing information on related topics. 

The general FAQ did not address some issues unique to the federal workforce. To further assist in this area, the EEOC has prepared answers to recent frequently asked questions shared by federal agencies and other federal sector stakeholders. 

1. Are federal agencies still required to submit annual EEOC Management Directive 715 reports? 
   Yes. Federal agencies are statutorily required to maintain affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity (EEO) and to submit annual EEO plans to the EEOC for review and approval.1 The EEOC continues to require agencies to use EEO Management Directive 715 as a tool to proactively identify and correct unlawful employment practices.  
   MD-715 aligns with the President’s directive to provide color-blind equal opportunity for all federal employees and applicants. As previous guidance in Frequently Asked Questions About Management Directive-715 made clear, “Neither EEOC policy nor MD-715 requires agencies to establish racial or ethnic preferences or quotas. Indeed, federal anti-discrimination laws and EEOC’s policies require that agencies prohibit discrimination, including ‘reverse’ discrimination. MD-715 requires agencies to take proactive steps to ensure equal employment opportunity for all their employees and applicants for employment.” 
2. Are agencies still expected to conduct barrier analysis as a part of their Management Directive 715 efforts?
   Yes, MD-715 requires barrier analysis. Barrier analysis entails a thorough review of an agency’s workforce data and other information to identify possible unlawful employment practices. Workforce statistics are only the starting point of the analysis. Conclusions concerning the existence of an unlawful workplace practice should not be drawn solely from numerical assessments.2 To identify and correct a specific unlawful employment practice, agencies need to explore other sources of information, including but not limited to EEO complaint data, grievance data, exit interview data, results from surveys and focus groups, anecdotal evidence from various stakeholders, and reports from outside organizations. 
   With narrow exceptions related to disability, the barrier analysis is not intended to justify or condone setting hiring quotas for any EEO protected group. Engaging in reverse discrimination is not a valid way to correct an unlawful employment practice identified through a barrier analysis and is itself unlawful.  
3. Should agencies continue to process requests for reasonable accommodation for religion, pregnancy, and disability? 
   Yes. Title VII, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the Rehabilitation Act require covered federal agencies to provide employees and applicants with reasonable accommodations for their religious observances and practices; limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; and disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the agency. Additionally, Executive Order 13164 requires covered federal agencies to establish effective procedures to facilitate reasonable accommodation requests from qualified individuals with disabilities.   
4. Should agencies continue to process complaints of discrimination based on sexual orientation or transgender status?  
   Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that discrimination against an individual based on sexual orientation or transgender status amounts to “discrimination against that individual based on sex” in violation of Title VII. Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644, 660 (2020). Agencies should continue to accept and process EEO complaints covered by Bostock.   
5. What bases of employment discrimination are prohibited under federal sector equal employment opportunity policy, and what protections exist for individuals who oppose such discrimination?
   Federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.101 (laying out federal government’s “general policy” against unlawful employment discrimination). Additionally, the regulation protects individuals from retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful under federal EEO statutes or for participating in related administrative or judicial proceedings. These protections are grounded in several federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Equal Pay Act, Rehabilitation Act, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.  
6. What bases must be covered in an agency’s EEO policy statement according to federal sector regulations, and what protections must the policy ensure? 
   According to the Code of Federal Regulations, section 1614.101 General policy, an agency’s EEO policy statement must cover the following prohibited bases of discrimination:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• National origin
• Age
• Disability
• Genetic information
• Pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions 
  
  The EEO policy must also:
• Affirm the agency’s commitment to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants,
• All employees and applicants will have the freedom to compete on a fair and level playing field with equal opportunity for competition,
• Equal employment opportunity covers all personnel/employment programs, management practices, and decisions, including, but not limited to, recruitment/hiring, merit promotion, transfer, reassignments, training and career development, benefits, and separation,
• Workplace harassment will not be tolerated, and the agency will correct the harassing conduct before it becomes severe or pervasive, and
• Prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose discriminatory practices or participate in administrative or judicial proceedings under:
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• Equal Pay Act
• Rehabilitation Act
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) 

This ensures that employees and applicants are both protected and supported in a workplace free of discrimination and retaliation. However, the above list of bases currently conflicts with the instructions in Management Directive 715 (MD-715). 

This discrepancy reflects a need for future alignment between the regulation and the directive. Until MD-715 is updated, agencies should follow the regulation’s broader language because, § 1614.101 represents the most current regulatory requirement and reflects the full scope of federal anti-discrimination laws including the PWFA.