What HR Leaders Need to Know About the EEOC's Latest Enforcement Priorities
On April 3, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its FY 2027 Agency Performance Plan and FY 2025 Agency Performance Report, providing a roadmap of their enforcement priorities and compliance expectations. Chair Andrea Lucas has articulated four enforcement priorities that HR teams should consider in allocating compliance resources.
The Four Pillars of EEOC Enforcement Under Chair Lucas
DEI-Related Discrimination
The EEOC's most closely watched priority is targeting what it characterizes as "unlawful race and sex discrimination" tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, policies, and practices. In FY 2025, the agency secured settlements with six law firms requiring commitments to merit-based practices. It also jointly issued two documents intended to provide guidance on the practical application of legal requirements (known as technical assistance documents) with the Department of Justice explaining how the agencies interpret DEI programs under existing civil rights law. Those documents, What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work and What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work, counsel employees on how to recognize potential DEI-related discrimination and how to pursue discrimination claims based on such alleged discrimination.
The takeaway: any program that ties employment decisions to race, sex, or other protected characteristics—rather than individual qualifications—carries risk. Employers need not abandon diversity efforts, but must ensure those efforts do not create preferences, quotas, or set-asides based on protected class status. HR leaders should review diversity-related programs in light of the EEOC's current interpretive framework and make necessary adjustments to ensure compliance.
Protecting American Workers from National Origin Discrimination
The EEOC is also targeting "anti-American bias" and "foreign preference national origin discrimination." In FY 2025, it secured $1.4 million in the settlement of a lawsuit against LeoPalace, a hotel and resort in Guam, that allegedly provided less favorable wages and working conditions to non-Japanese employees. The agency also filed a class action on behalf of black American farm workers who allegedly received inferior job assignments that were more strenuous, and had fewer work hours, lower pay, and lower bonuses than assignments given to foreign workers.
To reduce the risk to their organizations, HR leaders for organizations with multinational workforces or visa-sponsored employees should audit compensation, job assignments, and working conditions for national origin disparities. Pay structures and assignment criteria should be documented, transparent, and grounded in objective, nondiscriminatory factors.
Women's Sex-Based Rights in the Workplace
The EEOC filed 42 sex and pregnancy-related lawsuits in FY 2025, including several under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Notable resolutions included a $3.1 million settlement for women allegedly denied truck driver positions, a $1.6 million settlement for women allegedly excluded from security officer roles, and over $5.4 million in sexual harassment settlements.
HR teams should ensure that robust anti-harassment policies and complaint mechanisms are in place, that managers receive regular training, and that policies are properly enforced. Accommodation policies must include reasonable accommodations for known pregnancy-related limitations and, if an employer's position is that particular accommodations cannot be granted for workers in certain positions without undue hardship, it must be prepared to document and otherwise support its position. Employers that denied pregnancy-related leave, penalized absences, or required overtime contrary to health care provider instructions faced enforcement actions in FY 2025.
Hiring criteria should also be reviewed to confirm they do not exclude women without legitimate, job-related justification. Additionally, managers should be regularly trained on anti-harassment policies and complaint processes to ensure compliance.
Religious Liberty and Accommodation
Chair Lucas has made clear that enforcement of protections against religious discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodations, is an agency priority. Religious discrimination enforcement surged in FY 2025. The EEOC filed 10 new lawsuits—more than triple the amount filed in the prior year—and secured a record $21 million settlement from Columbia University to resolve antisemitism charges. The agency also recovered millions through conciliation of religious accommodation claims related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
In addition to enforcing polices prohibiting discrimination based on religion, HR teams must ensure a good-faith interactive process for every religious accommodation request, including, for example, those related to scheduling, dress code, grooming, or vaccination exemptions. Denials must rest on specific, documented evidence of undue hardship, not blanket policies. Anti-harassment policies should also explicitly address religious bias.
Systemic Investigations Are Intensifying
The EEOC's systemic enforcement program is also expanding. In FY 2025, the agency resolved 444 systemic investigations and obtained more than $55 million in settlements and damages awarded, a 20% increase in resolutions and roughly 115% increase in recoveries over FY 2024. Conciliation, a process of voluntarily resolving claims after the agency has found reasonable cause to support a finding of discrimination, alone recovered $52.2 million, a 26% increase from the previous year.
HR leaders must take the EEOC's investigative process seriously and, in the unfortunate event that an investigation results in a reasonable cause finding, the company must take a serious approach to the conciliation process. The agency is also investing in enhanced compliance monitoring of conciliation agreements, so post-settlement obligations may face greater scrutiny. Employers who settle with the EEOC under such circumstances will need to have internal processes to meet commitments on time and in full.
Operational Changes That Will Affect Employers
Operational shifts may affect how quickly charges are filed and investigated. According to the agency's report on its 2025 performance, the EEOC handled approximately 537,000 phone calls and nearly 270,000 field office inquiries in FY 2025 (up 8.7%) and launched a new scheduling tool to make it easier for individuals to initiate charges. Despite a headcount reduction from 2,170 to 1,809 employees entering FY 2026, the EEOC is hiring for mission-critical roles and cross-office collaboration. HR leaders should not assume fewer staff means less enforcement.
A Practical Compliance Checklist for HR Teams
The following best practices, drawn from the EEOC's priorities and enforcement record, may help organizations reduce their risk of adverse outcomes from either individual discrimination charges or systemic investigations:
- Review hiring, promotion, compensation, mentoring, training, and resource programs to confirm decisions rest on individual qualifications and merit and participation is not limited based on protected characteristics. For programs that reference protected characteristics, consult employment counsel for advice.
- Document procedures for evaluating religious accommodation requests, train managers on the interactive process obligation, and ensure denials are supported by specific evidence of undue hardship.
- Update pregnancy accommodation policies to align with the PWFA. Train managers on the obligation to accommodate known pregnancy-related limitations, and review attendance and overtime policies for inadvertent penalties on pregnant employees.
- Audit compensation and assignments to identify and remediate disparities between domestic and foreign-born workers.
- Maintain and enforce anti-harassment policies. Policies should cover all protected bases, including religion, and be updated regularly.
Key Takeaways
- EEOC Enforcement Priorities Are Expanding – The EEOC’s FY 2027 plan underscores continued focus on DEI practices, national origin discrimination, sex-based workplace rights, and religious accommodations.
- DEI Programs Face Heightened Scrutiny – The agency is targeting employment practices that rely on protected characteristics, reinforcing the need for merit-based, well-documented diversity initiatives.
- Accommodation Obligations Remain a Core Focus – Religious and pregnancy-related accommodation claims continue to drive enforcement, requiring strong interactive processes and documented undue hardship analyses.
- Systemic Enforcement and Penalties Are Increasing – Expanded systemic investigations, higher recoveries, and tighter conciliation monitoring raise the stakes for employers under EEOC review.
- Enforcement Capacity Remains Strong – Despite staffing shifts, high intake volumes and new efficiency tools signal continued robust EEOC enforcement activity.
Looking Ahead
The EEOC's report makes it clear that proactive compliance is not optional. Organizations that invest now in reviewing employment practices, strengthening accommodation processes, and training managers on evolving obligations will be best positioned to avoid costly enforcement actions and defend against charges of discrimination.
For more information or counseling regarding EEOC enforcement priorities, investigations, or charges, please contact Amy Conway, Stephanie Scheck, Sara Welch, Bernadette Sargeant, Leena Fry, or the Stinson LLP contact with whom you regularly work.
