Executive Order 12086, signed by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

on , restructured the enforcement of

equal employment opportunity Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity to attain or maintain employment in a company, organization, or other institution. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity ...

(EEO) obligations among federal contractors by consolidating compliance functions within the

Department of Labor A ministry of labour (''British English, UK''), or labor (''American English, US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workfor ...

(DOL).

Background

Before the order, the responsibility for enforcing EEO provisions under Executive Order 11246 was distributed among various federal agencies. This decentralized approach led to inconsistencies and inefficiencies in the enforcement of affirmative action and nondiscrimination requirements.

Provisions

Transfer of functions

The order reassigned primary enforcement responsibilities from multiple federal agencies to the Secretary of Labor. This centralization aimed to streamline compliance and ensure uniform enforcement of EEO requirements.

Amendments to Executive Order 11246

To reflect the transfer of responsibilities, the order amended sections of Executive Order 11246, designating the Secretary of Labor as the principal authority for administering and enforcing Parts II and III of the order.

Impact

The consolidation of enforcement functions under the DOL led to the creation of the

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP is responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondis ...

(OFCCP). This agency became responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the federal government comply with EEO laws and regulations.

External links

Executive Order 12086
from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration website.

References

1978 in American law 1978 in the United States History of civil rights in the United States Executive orders of Jimmy Carter History of affirmative action in the United States {{US-law-stub