HR and future of work · Industry brief

The EEOC has implemented a new National Enforcement Plan (NEP) that represents a significant shift in workplace regulation enforcement priorities as of January 2025. The Plan moves away from prior focus on systemic barriers and workforce demographics toward scrutinizing whether DEI-related initiatives and employment decisions create distinctions based on protected characteristics. Beyond DEI, the EEOC's enforcement priorities now include anti-American national origin discrimination, religious liberty and accommodation, sex-based rights and protections, and binary sex expression. Since January 2025, the Commission has pursued active enforcement through litigation (notably against Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast over a women-only professional development event), investigations, technical assistance publications and public outreach. The substantive shift reflects a textualist interpretation of Title VII that emphasizes equal treatment regardless of stated inclusion objectives, changing the compliance landscape for employers and the types of claims likely to emerge in coming years.

The EEOC has released a new National Enforcement Plan that reflects changing regulatory priorities, according to a guest viewpoint by Moire Morón published August 13, 2026 in HR Executive. The plan signals altered enforcement risks for employers, though the full details of the priorities and compliance implications require review of the source publication.

Regulatory compliance developments for staffing firms are being addressed in a mid-year 2026 legal update webinar featuring Akerman LLP partners Brian Nugent and Melissa Cizmorris. Nugent has led more than 30 transactions in the staffing and PEO industries in the past three years and advises on M&A matters, licensing, and legal formation for employment services companies. The webinar will cover emerging workplace trends, compliance challenges, and recent legal and regulatory changes affecting staffing firms, though specific regulatory enforcement actions or M&A filings are not detailed in this announcement.

Virginia introduced significant employment law changes in 2026 affecting paid leave requirements and wage and hour obligations, creating new compliance obligations for employers. Littler attorneys are presenting an analysis of consequential Virginia employment law developments, identifying enforcement and litigation risks, flagging labor bills that may be reintroduced in the next legislative session, and recommending concrete compliance actions for organizations. The briefing is scheduled for October 20, 2026 in Tysons Corner, with additional sessions on pay transparency (November 2026) and workplace implications of the mid-terms elections (December 2026).