The United States Department of Labor proposed new guidelines to prohibit sex discrimination by federal contractors. Guidelines for sex discrimination were issued in 1970 and have not been changed since that time.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs recognized that its sex discrimination guidelines were out of date and did not reflect the modern workplace. OFCCP issued proposed rules intending to update existing guidance.
The proposed rules will recognize that a sexually hostile work environment is a form of sex discrimination and will take into account recent protections for pregnant women. The guidelines will also address certain barriers that women face including pay discrimination, sexual harassment, failure to accommodate pregnancy, gender identity discrimination and family caregiving issues.
The guidelines are open for comment and will likely be required for federal contractors later this year.
