Notice2026-10103
Notice of Withdrawal of Guidance Circular 4704.1A
Primary source
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Published
May 20, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Transit Administration
Abstract
By this notice, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) withdraws guidance document Circular 4704.1A, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29519-29520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10103]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Notice of Withdrawal of Guidance Circular 4704.1A
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of withdrawal of guidance.
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SUMMARY: By this notice, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
withdraws guidance document Circular 4704.1A, Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit
Administration Recipients.
DATES: The applicable date of this notice is May 20, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Montgomery, Assistant Chief
Counsel for Legislation and Regulations Office, Federal Transit
Administration, phone: (202) 684-5301, or email,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8ec3effce5a0c3e1e0fae9e1e3ebfcf7ceeae1faa0e9e1f8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="024f6370692c4f6d6c76656d6f67707b42666d762c656d74">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2016, FTA published Circular 4704.1A,
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Requirements and Guidelines for
Federal Transit Administration Recipients. 81 FR 67047 (Sep. 29, 2016).
Circular 4704.1A consolidated and clarified Equal Employment
Opportunity-related requirements from Titles VI and VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, Title II of the Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53, other
Federal civil rights statutes, and the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) regulations in 49 CFR part 21.
FTA's predecessor agency, the Urban Mass Transportation
Administration, issued Circular 4704.1--the first document requiring
that recipients submit documentation of their employment practices to
ensure workplace nondiscrimination--in 1988. FTA updated this circular
in 2016 with Circular 4704.1A, which requires recipients with 50 or
more employees to maintain a program plan documenting their
nondiscrimination efforts. Recipients with 100 or more employees that
received more than $1 million in Federal funding in the previous fiscal
year must submit comprehensive EEO programs to FTA every four years.
FTA maintains a public list of when recipients falling into one of
these categories must submit their EEO programs. This administrative
requirement predates the consolidation of Federal employment
discrimination oversight under the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) and is now redundant due to the established
authorities of the EEOC and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The EEOC serves as the primary oversight and enforcement agency of
Federal employment discrimination laws, including Title VII of the
Civil Right Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Act of 1972. DOJ holds exclusive authority to litigate EEO cases
against state and local governments.
In early 2025, President Trump issued Executive Orders expressing
the policy of the Administration to ``alleviate unnecessary regulatory
burdens placed on the American people'' and ``deconstruct[ ] . . . the
overbearing and burdensome administrative state.'' Executive Order
14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, 90 FR 9065 (Jan. 31,
2025); Executive Order 14219, Ensuring Lawful Governance and
[[Page 29520]]
Implementing the President's ``Department of Government Efficiency''
Deregulatory Initiative, 90 FR 10583 (Feb. 19, 2025).
In accordance with these Executive Orders, FTA evaluated its
External EEO Program and the corresponding Circular 4704.1A and
determined that revoking this Circular will relieve an administrative
burden for recipients by terminating the requirement that recipients
submit EEO documentation to FTA. The requirements included in Circular
4704.1A are redundant of existing regulations promulgated by EEOC, DOL,
and DOJ, and revoking Circular 4704.1A will reduce reporting
requirements for recipients. FTA hereby revokes Circular 4704.1A,
including its requirements for agencies to submit EEO documentation to
FTA.
This notice is strictly a revocation of FTA's Circular 4704.1A and
does not affect recipient obligations to comply with nondiscrimination
requirements under Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
(GINA), 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53, other Federal civil rights statutes, or
the DOT regulations in 49 CFR part 21. Recipients must comply with all
Federal requirements pertaining to nondiscrimination, including 49
U.S.C. 5332(b), which provides that no person may be ``excluded from
participating in, denied a benefit of, or discriminated against under,
a project, program, or activity receiving financial assistance under
this chapter because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex,
disability, or age.''
Jamie D. Pfister,
Acting Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 2026-10103 Filed 5-19-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P
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