In tomorrow’s Federal Register, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will publish an important notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) effectively rescinding most of the current regulations governing the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) obligations of sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs.
In general, the proposed rule reduces an apprenticeship program sponsor’s EEO obligations to complying with “all applicable federal and state laws governing nondiscrimination in the workplace,” which was the standard applied to sponsors of Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs as proposed during President Trump’s first term. Moreover, the proposed rule expressly states that for EEO, it is “not necessary” for DOL to have “a separate oversight, investigative, and enforcement framework specific to registered apprenticeship.” The proposal also eliminates the requirements for apprenticeship programs with five or more apprentices to prepare Affirmative Action Plans and eliminates the rules on methods for selection of apprentices. Under the proposed rule, the DOL will only de-register an apprenticeship program for EEO violations “if a competent enforcement agency or court issues a final determination of unlawful discrimination” against it.
Once published, the proposed rule will be subject to a 60-day comment period. Comments can be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal here using Docket No. ETA-2025-0006.