Proposed rule rewriting the Registered Apprenticeship equal-opportunity regulations (29 CFR Part 30), deleting "gender identity" from the equal-opportunity pledge

Would retitle 29 CFR Part 30 "Prohibiting Illegal Discrimination in Registered Apprenticeship Programs" and eliminate eleven sections, including the written affirmative action plan requirement (§§ 30.4–30.9, 30.11), the 7% disability utilization goal and self-identification provisions (§ 30.7), targeted outreach and recruitment (§ 30.8), annual personnel-process review (§ 30.9), selection-procedure standards (§ 30.10), the apprenticeship-specific anti-retaliation provision (§ 30.17), and the internal complaint framework (§ 30.14, replaced by referral of complaints to the EEOC, the Attorney General, or a state FEP agency). Sponsors would instead be required only to comply with existing federal and state antidiscrimination law. Directly relevant here: the proposal removes the reference to "gender identity" in the equal-opportunity pledge at current 29 CFR 30.3(c), stating that the reference conflicts with Executive Order 14168; the proposal cites E.O. 14173 repeatedly as its principal justification. RIN 1205-AC21; docket ETA-2025-0006; comments due September 2, 2025.