Secretary's Order 08-2025 - To Lift the Abeyance on OFCCP’s Processing of the Section 503 and VEVRAA Components of Open Compliance Reviews or Complaint Investigations

On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," which revoked E.O. 11246.  E.O. 14173 ordered that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) immediately cease holding federal contractors responsible for taking affirmative action or allowing workforce balancing on certain bases.  Federal contractors were in turn told to wind down compliance with E.O. 11246’s regulatory scheme by April 21, 2025.

In response to E.O. 14173, on January 24, 2025, then-Acting Secretary Vincent Micone issued Secretary’s Order 03-2025, which ordered that OFCCP cease and desist all investigative and enforcement activity under E.O. 11246.  Order 03-2025 also placed OFCCP’s activity related to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 793 (Section 503), and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA), in abeyance pending further guidance.  OFCCP’s previous structure entwined the three program areas of E.O. 11246, Section 503, and VEVRAA.  This brief abeyance was necessary to unwind OFCCP’s E.O. 11246 program areas from the Section 503 and VEVRAA areas and ensure OFCCP did not undertake any activity for which it was not authorized.

Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer has now issued Order 08-2025 lifting the abeyance allowing OFCCP to resume activity under the Section 503 and VEVRAA program areas.  The E.O. 11246-related provisions of Order 03-2025 are unaffected and remain in full force and effect.  Any Section 503 and VEVRAA complaints held during the abeyance will immediately resume being processed as appropriate and affected parties will be promptly notified of this development.  New Section 503 and VEVRAA complaints filed during the abeyance will also begin processing as normal.

Because OFCCP’s compliance review format significantly entangled E.O. 11246 reviews with reviews of Section 503 and/or VEVRAA compliance, OFCCP will be exercising its discretion to administratively close all pending compliance reviews and will take no further action related to the scheduling list released in November 2024.  Impacted contractors will promptly receive formal notification of the administrative closure of the pending compliance review.  Additionally, while OFCCP continues to work to revise its processes and systems to reflect changes to OFCCP’s scope of mission and authority with the revocation of E.O. 11246, the Section 503 and VEVRAA affirmative action program (AAP) certification period will remain closed at this time.  Contractors are reminded, however, that Section 503 and VEVRAA, along with their implementing regulations, remain in effect and contractors should continue to otherwise comply with their obligations under the Section 503 and VEVRAA regulatory schemes.

OFCCP also renewed its Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program (VAHBP) enforcement moratorium, and that moratorium will remain in effect until May 7, 2027. This moratorium exempts VAHBP providers from enforcement of their affirmative obligations under Section 503 and VEVRAA or being neutrally scheduled for Section 503 and VEVRAA compliance evaluations that may occur through May 7, 2027.  It does not relieve VAHBP providers of their nondiscrimination obligations or of being subject to discrimination complaint investigations under the laws enforced by OFCCP.

If you are a veteran or an individual with a disability and need assistance, please submit an online inquiry to the OFCCP Customer Service Helpdesk or call 1-800-397-6251. For TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service, dial 7-1-1.