OFCCP's New Section 503 Final Rule: What the End of Disability Self-Identification Means for Federal Contractors

On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a final rule fundamentally reshaping federal contractors' disability-related affirmative action obligations under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. The rule eliminates the longstanding requirement that contractors invite applicants and employees to self-identify as individuals with disabilities, rescinds the related Form CC-305 and data-collection requirements, and removes the 7% utilization goal and associated utilization analyses that have been central to contractors' Section 503 compliance programs since 2013.

While these changes substantially reduce contractors' quantitative compliance obligations, they do not eliminate Section 503 affirmative action or nondiscrimination obligations altogether. Covered contractors must still take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities, prepare written affirmative action programs (AAPs), conduct outreach and recruitment efforts, and provide reasonable accommodations.

Join Jackson Lewis P.C. attorneys for a timely discussion of what the final rule changes, what stays in place, and what federal contractors and subcontractors should be doing now to update their compliance programs.

Topics

• What AAP-related obligations the final rule eliminates, and which remain
• What inquiries, if any, can an employer still make with respect to disabilities without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• How to transition to OFCCP's less data-dependent model of affirmative action, including non-quantitative measures for evaluating outreach effectiveness
• Practical steps for updating applicant tracking systems, onboarding processes, AAP templates, and related policies

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