A route into skilled work is not necessarily a route reserved for the young. The Labor Department’s registered-apprenticeship rule, published December 19, 2016, adds age 40 or older to the protected bases, alongside genetic information, sexual orientation and disability. For applicants and apprentices, the change addresses how opportunities are offered and administered, rather than promising a place. [2016-29910]

The population matters. These are programs registered with the Department or federally recognized state apprenticeship agencies, not every workplace training course. The final rule also describes affirmative action as active attention to recruitment, selection, advancement and retention. Its focus extends beyond avoiding an explicitly discriminatory rejection to examining practices that can create barriers for qualified people. [2016-29910]

The November 6, 2015 proposal shows why an exemption needs careful reading. It described existing exceptions to developing an affirmative-action program for sponsors with fewer than five apprentices and those meeting approved-program conditions. These were not exceptions to nondiscrimination. The final small-program provision also excludes arrangements adopted to circumvent the requirement, so size alone does not tell the whole story. [2015-27316][2016-29910]

This Christmas account looks back to the earlier publication. The original schedule set January 18, 2017 effectiveness, with section-specific transitions rather than instant compliance with every new duty. That calendar and the proposal establish a policy design, not measured gains in training access. The two documents belong to one proceeding; whether more qualified applicants obtain opportunities remains an outcome to establish. [2016-29910][2015-27316]

Source documents

  1. Apprenticeship Programs; Equal Employment Opportunityhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-19/html/2016-29910.htm
  2. Apprenticeship Programs; Equal Employment Opportunityhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-11-06/html/2015-27316.htm