Labor Department Rescinds Apprenticeship Affirmative Action Rules
A final rule removes affirmative action and mandatory anti-harassment training requirements from registered apprenticeship programs.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Unions
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The Department of Labor released a final rule on Thursday that replaces affirmative action provisions for registered apprenticeship programs with a requirement to comply with federal and state anti-discrimination laws. The rule also eliminates mandatory anti-harassment training for apprentices and supervisors.
Why it matters
The change follows the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which held that considering race in admissions violates the U.S. Constitution. It marks the latest deregulatory action affecting national workforce development programs.
The final rule takes the place of prior affirmative action provisions and removes mandatory anti-harassment training for apprentices and supervisors. The extraction does not report exact counts of affected programs or participants.
The players
U.S. Department of Labor
The federal cabinet agency responsible for administering national workforce and apprenticeship standards, which issued the final rule.
Supreme Court of the United States
The nation's highest federal court, whose 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard provided the rationale for the change.
The details
Under the rule, employer-sponsored apprenticeship programs must follow federal and state anti-discrimination laws instead of the diversity goals the Department previously required. The change also removes the mandatory anti-harassment training that had applied to apprentices and the supervisors who oversee them.
Timeline
2023: Supreme Court decides Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Thursday, November 5, 2026: Department of Labor releases the final rule.
Need to Know
The rule applies the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which held that considering race in admissions violates the U.S. Constitution, to federal apprenticeship standards. It extends a broader pattern of deregulatory workforce actions.
Employers and apprentices in registered programs will now operate under anti-discrimination compliance rules rather than the former affirmative action goals and mandatory anti-harassment training. Program participants should expect changes to how their programs are administered, though the source does not specify the timing of those changes.
The takeaway
Registered apprenticeship programs now rely on compliance with existing anti-discrimination law rather than federal affirmative action goals. Workers and employers should review their program's current requirements to understand how the change applies to them.
Further reading
For related coverage, see the Unions section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Bloomberglaw.
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