The Rise of Merit Based Compliance Under EO 14398

Part 2 – Why Workforce Analytics May Matter More Than Ever: The Rise of Merit-Based Compliance Under EO 14398

As federal contractors adjust to the rapidly evolving compliance environment surrounding Executive Order 14398 and FAR 52.222-90, many employers are asking an increasingly common question: Should we stop conducting workforce analytics altogether? For some organizations, concern surrounding DEI enforcement has created hesitation about reviewing hiring, promotion, compensation, or workforce demographic data. That reaction may be…
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Can the EEOC Eliminate the EEO-1 Report?

Why Employers Should Closely Watch the Growing Debate Over Workforce Data Collection For nearly six decades, the EEO-1 report has served as one of the federal government’s primary workforce data collection tools in the fight against workplace discrimination. Employers with 100 or more employees, including many federal contractors, have long been required to submit demographic…
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Part 1 – Federal Contractors: Prepare for the Next Wave of Audits

EO 14398 and FAR 52.222-90 Signal a Major Shift in Federal Enforcement The federal contractor compliance landscape is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades. For years, contractors largely associated compliance oversight with affirmative action plans, OFCCP desk audits, and technical reporting obligations. Today, however, the federal government appears to be expanding its…
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EEOC-Performance-Report-Part-3-2026

EEOC Performance Report (Part III): How Employers Can Prevent EEOC Complaints Before They Start

If employees file complaints when fairness breaks down, prevention requires more than policies, it requires operational discipline. Organizations that successfully reduce EEOC risk do not rely on reactive compliance. They build systems that make fairness visible, decisions understandable, and practices consistent across the organization. At the core of this effort is the concept of procedural…
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EEOC-Performance-Report-Part-2-2026

EEOC Performance Report (Part II): Why Employees File EEOC Complaints

While rising enforcement activity and monetary recoveries have drawn attention to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, they do not fully explain a more fundamental question facing employers today: Why do employees decide to file complaints in the first place? In practice, most EEOC charges are not triggered by a single event. They are the…
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