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Policy Week in Review – January 23, 2026
At a Glance
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters.
EEOC Rescinds Enforcement Guidance on Harassment
On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to rescind its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. The proposal to rescind the guidance was approved two-to-one, with Chair Andrea Lucas (R) and Commissioner Britanny Panuccio (R) voting to repeal the document, and Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal (D) voting against rescission. The rescission is unsurprising now that the Commission has a quorum. Almost immediately after assuming her role as then-acting chair in January 2025, now-Chair Lucas signaled her opposition to portions of the guidance and indicated that she would seek to rescind or revise it as soon as she had the votes to do so. While the rescission is effective immediately, as a legal matter, the repeal of non-binding EEOC guidance does not dramatically alter federal anti-harassment law, nor does it bear on state civil rights laws that prohibit workplace harassment. Read here for Littler’s analysis.
House Subcommittee Holds Oversight Hearing on MSHA
On January 22, House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chair Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) held a hearing titled, “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Mine Safety and Health Administration” to assess the protection of mine workers through the enforcement of safety and health standards, compliance assistance, and advanced technologies. MSHA Assistant Secretary Wayne Palmer testified about ongoing efforts to bolster mine safety inspections, including leveraging technological advancements via an aerial drone program for inspecting high-hazard areas and an artificial intelligence platform pioneered to predict real-world mine safety risks. Additionally, Palmer testified on the need to modernize agency regulations, including recent efforts to remove outdated or inconsistent requirements, as well as work on a limited rulemaking to reconsider and seek comments on portions of the 2024 final silica rule. For a recap of the hearing, read here.
Former NLRB Acting General Counsel Cowen Appointed to Oversee Regional Offices
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Crystal Carey announced the appointment of William Cowen as acting general counsel for the Division of Operations-Management. In this capacity, Cowen will oversee the NLRB’s 26 regional offices. Cowen has held many roles throughout his career at the NLRB, including most recently as acting general counsel and as the regional director of Region 21 (Lost Angeles).
