DOL to End Anti-Discrimination Requirements for Apprenticeships

The US Labor Department proposed scrapping certain affirmative action and nondiscrimination requirements in its registered apprenticeship program.

The proposed rule, set to be published in the Federal Register on July 2, would rescind affirmative action planning and certain recordkeeping requirements for sponsors that operate registered apprenticeship training programs.

The affirmative action requirements found throughout the agency’s regulations “conflict with merit principles, may potentially induce the illegal selection of apprentices based on race and sex, and likely will no longer withstand legal scrutiny,” a draft version of the rulemaking said.

Once published, the agency will collect comment from the public ...