Independent · not DOL or OFCCP

Do small federal contractors still need an affirmative action plan in 2026?

Updated September 2026

On August 21, 2026, the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published three final rules. The disability and veterans rules took effect on September 21, and the one deleting the Executive Order 11246 regulations takes effect on October 26. Here is what is left for a small contractor, and the dollar and headcount lines at which each duty starts.

What happened to Executive Order 11246?

Executive Order 11246 of 1965 was the source of the race and sex affirmative action program. Executive Order 14173 (90 FR 8633), signed January 21, 2025, revoked it in section 3(b)(i) and gave contractors 90 days to keep following the old regulatory scheme.

Section 3(b)(ii) told OFCCP to stop holding contractors responsible for taking "affirmative action" and to stop allowing or encouraging workforce balancing based on race, sex and other listed traits. OFCCP's home page says contractors were told to wind down EO 11246 compliance by April 21, 2025, and that Secretary's Order 03-2025 of January 24, 2025 halted all OFCCP investigation and enforcement under EO 11246.

DOL's rescission rule (91 FR 54444, FR Doc. 2026-17114) removes and reserves 41 CFR parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, 60-20, 60-40, 60-50 and 60-999, effective October 26, 2026. Because DOL had already stopped enforcing them, the preamble says the rule "largely maintains the status quo." For most contractors little should change that day; the open question is the EEO-1 report, covered below.

EO 14173 did add something. Section 3(b)(iv) tells agencies to put two terms in every contract or grant award: one making compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws material to payment for False Claims Act purposes, and a certification that you run no DEI programs that violate those laws. Where an agency has added those terms, they appear in your award, so read it alongside your representations and certifications in SAM.gov.

What changed for disability rules on September 21, 2026?

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its regulations at 41 CFR part 60-741 still apply. DOL's Section 503 rule (91 FR 54482, FR Doc. 2026-17115) cut the quantitative parts of the program and kept the rest. The three main changes are now marked "[Reserved]" in the eCFR:

• 60-741.42, the duty to invite applicants and employees to self-identify as having a disability, which is where Form CC-305 came from.
• 60-741.44(k), the annual data collection analysis.
• 60-741.45, the 7 percent utilization goal and the utilization analysis that went with it.

A new paragraph, 60-741.44(l), says you do not have to weigh counts of referrals, applicants or hires with disabilities when you judge whether your outreach worked or whether your plan is effective. The preamble adds that contractors "remain free" to run utilization analyses on their own initiative, within laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What stayed is the structure of the written plan in 41 CFR 60-741.44: a policy statement, personnel process review, reasonable accommodation, outreach with a yearly check of whether it worked, an audit system and training, among other elements. The revised 60-741.41 requires the full plan to be open to any employee or applicant who asks, with viewing times and places posted at each establishment.

What changed for veterans rules, and what stayed the same?

The veterans rule (91 FR 54234, FR Doc. 2026-17116) under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, or VEVRAA, was narrower. It removed cross-references to EO 11246 from 41 CFR part 60-300 and raised the dollar thresholds to match the FAR Council's October 1, 2025 inflation adjustment.

Do not read the disability changes across to veterans. For contractors that must keep a written veterans plan (50 or more employees and a single contract of $200,000 or more), the VEVRAA regulations still require:

• pre-offer and post-offer invitations to self-identify as a protected veteran (60-300.42);
• an annual data collection analysis of applicants and hires (60-300.44(k));
• a hiring benchmark the contractor sets each year, either at the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force that OFCCP publishes or at its own figure built from listed factors, including state labor-force and job-service data and its own applicant and hiring ratios (60-300.45). The regulation says the benchmark is not a quota.

DOL left those sections alone. It called comments urging removal of the VEVRAA plan requirements outside the rulemaking's scope. For the veteran-owned side of contracting, a separate SBA matter, see our page on government contracting for veterans.

Which dollar and headcount thresholds apply now?

Clause coverage turns on contract value, not headcount. For indefinite-delivery contracts, including Federal Supply Schedule contracts, the orders expected in any year or a single large order decide it, and waivers exist (60-741.4 and 60-300.4). The written plan needs both a headcount and a contract value. Watch the wording: "in excess of" and "or more" are not the same line.

• Section 503 clause: contracts and subcontracts in excess of $20,000 (60-741.4(a)).
• Section 503 written plan: 50 or more employees and a single contract of $50,000 or more (60-741.40(b)).
• VEVRAA clause: contracts and subcontracts of $200,000 or more (60-300.4(a)).
• VEVRAA written plan: 50 or more employees and a single contract of $200,000 or more (60-300.40).
• VETS-4212 report: a contract or subcontract of $200,000 or more, with no headcount test (DOL VETS).

OFCCP's jurisdictional thresholds page notes the statutes say $10,000 and $100,000, raised by inflation adjustments, and that both laws reach federal construction contracts but not federally assisted construction contracts. For Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program providers, OFCCP says its moratorium on enforcing affirmative obligations runs until May 7, 2027, and does not lift nondiscrimination duties.

Where a written plan is required, you have 120 days from the start of the contract to prepare it for each establishment, you update it every year, and you send it within 30 days if OFCCP asks. OFCCP says the Section 503 and VEVRAA affirmative action program certification period "will remain closed." That is the certification step, not the plans themselves: the same OFCCP page says contractors "should continue to otherwise comply" with Section 503 and VEVRAA.

What does the equal opportunity clause make you do?

The clause is what reaches small firms, and it binds you even if no one hands you the text: under 60-741.5(e) and 60-300.5(e) it is part of every covered contract whether or not it is written in. The Section 503 clause at 60-741.5(a) requires you to:

• not discriminate because of physical or mental disability, and take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities;
• post the notices the OFCCP Director prescribes, including electronic notices for remote staff and online applicants;
• tell any union you deal with that you are bound by Section 503;
• state in job ads that qualified applicants will not face disability discrimination;
• put the clause in every subcontract or purchase order over $20,000.

The VEVRAA clause at 60-300.5(a) adds a job-listing duty that applies whatever your headcount: list job openings immediately with the appropriate employment service delivery system where the opening occurs, including openings not generated by the contract and openings at your other establishments. The state workforce agency job bank counts, and the listing must go out no later than any other recruitment. Executive and senior management jobs, positions filled from within, and jobs lasting three days or less are excluded. You also ask each state's system for priority referrals of protected veterans, post notices, notify unions, add a veteran-status statement to job ads, and flow the clause down to subcontracts of $200,000 or more.

On posters, OFCCP's poster page says the "Know Your Rights" poster is undergoing revision. Subcontractors get these duties through flow-down clauses; see our page on whether subcontractors need SAM.gov.

Who has to file VETS-4212, and when is it due?

The VETS-4212 page of DOL's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) states: "The current reporting threshold is $200,000." Its FAQ says a business with a current federal contract or subcontract of $200,000 or more should file "regardless of the number of employees." On that reading, a five-person subcontractor that held a $250,000 subcontract last year would generally file this cycle, even though it needs no VEVRAA written plan. Do not be thrown by the regulation at 41 CFR 61-300.1(a), which still prints $100,000: DOL says $200,000 is current, and the FAR clause prescription uses $200,000.

The cycle runs every year from August 1 to September 30. For 2026 the deadline in FAR clause 52.222-37 and 41 CFR 61-300.10 is Wednesday, September 30. Under 41 CFR 61-300.11(b), the report is due in the year after a calendar year in which you held a covered contract or subcontract, and DOL's FAQ says a company without a current covered contract as of January 1 need not file for that cycle.

DOL says it does not accept extension requests. It treats a report filed outside the official cycle as part of the currently active cycle, but the rule and the clause still name September 30. If you are unsure whether you must file, DOL's FAQ says to ask the contracting officer who awarded the contract. You generally file a report for each hiring location (DOL allows state consolidated reports for sites under 50 employees), online or, with 10 or fewer hiring locations, on the paper form by email or mail.

A missed report has a funding consequence: the FAR overhaul's model 22.1303 says contracting officers must not obligate or expend funds to enter into a contract with a contractor that has not filed a required VETS-4212 for the preceding fiscal year. Commercial products and services are excepted, as are contracts at or below the simplified acquisition threshold. DOL's FAQ adds that it brings no fines. Keep DOL's email confirmation: DOL says contracting officers should use it as verification that you filed.

Two worked examples: 6 employees vs 60 employees

Both firms are primes with one federal contract and no other federal work. Only headcount and contract value differ.

A 6-person firm with a $120,000 contract

• Section 503 clause: applies, since $120,000 is over $20,000, with every clause duty listed above.
• Section 503 written plan: not required. The contract clears $50,000, but the firm is under 50 employees.
• VEVRAA: not covered by this contract, which is under $200,000. No mandatory job listing. (Veterans self-identification is a written-plan duty, so it would not apply at six employees anyway.)
• VETS-4212: not required on this contract, since it is under $200,000.

If the same firm later wins a $210,000 contract, VEVRAA job listing starts right away, even at six people. VETS-4212 follows in the next year's August to September filing cycle. A written veterans plan still waits until it reaches 50 employees.

A 60-person firm with a $300,000 contract

• Section 503: the clause and a written plan both apply, the plan due within 120 days of the contract start. No self-identification form, 7 percent goal or utilization analysis is required now.
• VEVRAA: the clause applies, so openings go to the state job bank. A written plan is also required, with the self-identification invitations, the data collection analysis and a yearly hiring benchmark.
• VETS-4212: due each September 30 after a year in which it held the contract, generally one per hiring location.
• EEO-1: unresolved for a 60-person contractor, as the next section explains.

Do federal contractors still file EEO-1 reports?

This part is unsettled. Until October 26, 2026, 41 CFR 60-1.7 still requires an EEO-1 from contractors with 50 or more employees that meet further criteria. The rescission rule removes 60-1.7 as an OFCCP rule and says, in a footnote: "This final rule does not impact EEOC's actions with respect to the EEO-1 report."

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's EEO data collections page still says Component 1 is mandatory for private employers with 100 or more employees and for "federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria," citing EO 11246 and 60-1.7(a). As of September 28, 2026, that page has no statement on contractors with 50 to 99 employees once 60-1.7 is gone, so this page draws no conclusion. If you have 100 or more employees, the private employer line applies to you anyway.

Which FAR clauses in your contract carry these duties?

In the codified FAR (eCFR, up to date as of September 24, 2026), three clauses do the work. FAR 22.1310 prescribes 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans, at an expected value of $200,000 or more, and 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans, alongside it. FAR 22.1408 prescribes 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities, above $20,000. The codified FAR also still contains the EO 11246 clause, 52.222-26.

The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul model text differs. Its model deviation text for Part 22 shows Subpart 22.8 as reserved and keeps 22.13 (veterans) and 22.14 (disability), with the same $200,000 and $20,000 lines. The Part 52 model reserves 52.222-21 through 52.222-29, including 52.222-26.

Which text lands in your contract depends on your agency's deviation and the award date, so read the clause list in your award. Our FAR overhaul explainer covers the wider changes, including clause renumbering. One mismatch to know about: the model 22.1401-1(c) still mentions comparing utilization to "the utilization goal," but that goal was in 60-741.45, which DOL removed on September 21. If your contract carries that text, ask your contracting officer how it will be applied.

What changed, in date order

• January 21, 2025: EO 14173 revokes EO 11246.
• October 1, 2025: FAR inflation adjustment raises the Section 503 line from $15,000 to $20,000 and the VEVRAA line from $150,000 to $200,000.
• August 21, 2026: DOL publishes the three final rules, FR Docs. 2026-17114, 2026-17115 and 2026-17116.
• September 21, 2026: Section 503 and VEVRAA rules take effect. Disability self-identification, data collection analysis and the 7 percent goal are removed.
• September 30, 2026: VETS-4212 filing cycle closes.
• October 26, 2026: 41 CFR parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, 60-20, 60-40, 60-50 and 60-999 are removed.
• December 21, 2026: 41 CFR part 60-30, the old rules of practice, is removed; administrative proceedings are now written into 60-300.65 and 60-741.65.

This page summarizes DOL final rules 2026-17114, 2026-17115 and 2026-17116, 41 CFR parts 60-300, 60-741 and 61-300 on eCFR to September 24, 2026, and OFCCP, VETS and EEOC pages as of September 28, 2026. Confirm at dol.gov/agencies/ofccp and check the clauses in your own contract.

Independent information, not legal advice. ZeroGov is not DOL, not OFCCP, not EEOC, not SAM.gov and not the U.S. government.