The Trump administration recently issued its 2026 Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Regulatory Agenda). The Regulatory Agenda provides insight into upcoming regulatory and deregulatory actions at more than 60 federal departments, agencies and commissions. It is the second from the Trump administration, following the administration’s first, the Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda, which it released in September 2025.
CUPA-HR’s Government Relations team reviews each Regulatory Agenda and has compiled the following list of noteworthy regulations in the current edition.
Department of Labor
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has once again included a potential update to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations in its long-term actions agenda. The listing indicates that the WHD is considering changes to the overtime rules, but it has not specified what those changes would be or provided a target date.
As a reminder, the WHD issued a final rule to officially rescind the Biden administration’s 2024 overtime rule in May 2026. The rescission followed the Department of Labor’s joint stipulation filed in court to formally abandon its defense of the 2024 rule. The 2019 overtime rule and salary thresholds remain in effect as a result.
The WHD included another long-term action item to amend the FLSA regulations on activities constituting hours worked. Listed for the first time in the Regulatory Agenda, the new item indicates that the WHD is considering a review of its regulations at 29 CFR parts 785 and 790. The Regulatory Agenda explains:
“The Department’s regulations at 29 CFR part 785 provide interpretive guidance and policy statements addressing whether certain kinds of activities constitute hours worked for purposes of the FLSA. However, the part 785 regulations have not been meaningfully revised in many decades. Relatedly, Section 4 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 excludes certain activities which occur before or after an employee’s workday from their recorded hours worked under the FLSA. The Department’s regulations at 29 CFR part 790 outline and explain the Portal-to-Portal Act but the part 790 regulations have also not been meaningfully revised in many decades. Given the significant changes in workplace practices which have occurred in recent decades, the Department is considering a review of its regulations in 29 CFR parts 785 and 790.”
The WHD did not provide a target date for the long-term action item.
In October 2026, the WHD plans to issue a final rule on worker classification under the FLSA. The final rule would follow the February 2026 proposed rule that replaced the Biden administration’s independent contractor regulation with a modified version of the 2021 rule. If the WHD finalizes the proposed rule as written, it would establish economic reality factors to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the FLSA.
CUPA-HR joined comments in response to the proposed rule, supporting the modified framework.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Revisions to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is targeting November 2026 to issue a proposed rule to revise the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations implemented in 2024. According to the Regulatory Agenda, the EEOC seeks to revise “language in the regulations regarding the interpretation of the words ‘pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.’”
The 2024 regulations drew controversy for including “having or choosing not to have an abortion” as a qualified medical condition. The anticipated rule will likely change this language.
Similarly, the EEOC plans to rescind the appendix to its “Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex.” The agency wrote that the appendix, adopted shortly after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), predates the PWFA. It argues that the appendix is outdated and seeks to rescind it in July 2026, with an effective date in August 2026.
Rescission of Interpretive Rule “The Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin”
In July 2026, the EEOC intends to rescind its 1980 interpretive rule, the Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin. Per the Regulatory Agenda, the commission argues the guidelines conflict with the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which places the burden of proof on plaintiffs in disparate impact claims — rendering the guidelines’ presumption that English-only rules violate Title VII legally unsound. The agency also views the guidelines as outdated and redundant more broadly, noting that they rely on pre-1980 administrative decisions and that the underlying legal principles are now settled in case law.
The rescission follows a November 2025 update to the EEOC’s national origin discrimination resource page and a technical assistance document. The updated resources focused on addressing anti-American national origin bias in the workplace.
Federal Acquisition Regulation
Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity in Federal Contracts
In July 2026, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council intends to issue an interim final rule to remove requirements of the 1965 Executive Order 11246 from the FAR.
In January 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The 2025 order revoked EO 11246, which has required federal contractors to maintain affirmative action programs since its implementation. The upcoming interim final rule will incorporate this rescission into the FAR.
Department of Education
According to the Regulatory Agenda, the Department of Education (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) intends to take a final action in July 2026 to implement the definition of “sex” used in President Trump’s executive order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” into the Title IX regulations. The order defines “sex” as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female” and directs all federal agencies to “remove all … regulations … that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology.”
Office for Civil Rights – Update of Regulations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
In August 2026, OCR intends to issue a “final action” to amend the Title VI implementing regulations “to provide clarification on how Title VI’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin protects all individuals from discrimination.” It specifically states that OCR seeks to “clarify how Title VI’s protections impact development and implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and how they apply to race-based, race-exclusive, or race-conscious educational programs or criteria.”
The Regulatory Agenda lists this rule for the first time. It is unclear how the rule will achieve these goals.
Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is targeting August 2026 to release a proposed rule to reform the H-1B program. According to the Regulatory Agenda, some reforms include “revising eligibility for cap exemptions, providing greater scrutiny for employers that have violated program requirements, and increasing oversight over third party placements, among other provisions.”
In July 2026, USCIS intends to issue a final rule to end automatic extensions of employment authorization documents (Forms I-766 or EADs) for individuals who have timely filed an application to renew their EAD in certain employment authorization categories. The final rule follows an interim final rule published in October 2025 that eliminated the 540-day automatic extension of EADs for certain eligible categories. The final rule will respond to comments filed on the interim final rule.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is targeting July 2026 to release its final rule to eliminate the duration of status framework for admission for F, J and I nonimmigrant categories. The agency will replace the duration of status framework with a date-limited authorized period of stay when entering the U.S. The proposed rule would admit these individuals for the length of their program capped at four years per admission period, plus 30 days for departure.
CUPA-HR joined a comment letter highlighting the higher education community’s concerns with the proposed rule. The final rule cleared review with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on June 17, meaning the rule could be published in the Federal Register soon.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Practical Training
In February 2027, ICE intends to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to “better align practical training to the goals and objectives of the program while providing more clarity to the public.” While it is unclear what changes ICE will make, the listing states that the proposed rule “will amend existing regulations to address fraud and national security concerns, protect U.S. workers from being displaced by foreign nationals, and enhance the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s capacity to oversee the program.”