If you manage HR compliance involving a federal contract, then you’ve noticed that the rules keep changing and getting more complicated.

In June 2026, the National Partnership for Women & Families, Equal Rights Advocates, and The 75 Million Project released a brief urging Congress to restore and strengthen anti-discrimination protections for federal contractor workers after President Trump rescinded Executive Order 11246. For employers, the message is clear: compliance rules will keep shifting, so consistent data collection and analysis are now essential.

Between changing rules, remote verification, multiple reviewers, and tight deadlines, it’s easy for even experienced HR teams to slip up and make errors when accepting documents for Section 2 for the Form I-9 process. Let’s walk through what you need to know to keep your process clean, consistent, and audit ready.

Top Takeaways for HR

• Employers are strictly prohibited from directing or suggesting which documents an employee should provide (e.g., asking for a "Driver's License and Social Security Card"); steering them toward specific documents, even for convenience, can be flagged as a discriminatory practice.
• Employers must physically examine original, unexpired documents; accepting scans or photocopies outside of a specific, E-Verify-authorized remote inspection workflow, is a primary cause of audit failures.
• Collecting more documents than required (e.g., recording a Passport and a Social Security card) is a common compliance error, which can trigger penalties just as easily as missing information.

Not long ago, many companies viewed pay equity audits as a defensive measure to avoid legal penalties or prepare for a rare regulatory inspection. Managing compensation was about matching market rates, and teams could often get by with basic annual adjustments.

Mid-year is the time when most HR teams are deep into administering their hiring plans, performance cycles, and compliance checks. One area that often slips through the cracks is labor law poster compliance. States and jurisdictions oftentimes issue mid-year updates that require new labor law posters and a refresher of your handbook as policies and laws change. A mid-year audit is one of the simplest ways to stay ahead of risk and make sure your organization remains compliant as regulations change.

SHRM26 is happening in Orlando in June, and OutSolve is bringing the magic of HR Compliance as a Service directly to you there.

On May 14, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed rescinding the EEO-1 filing requirement. The EEOC sent a request to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), following a trend of executive orders disrupting long-standing reporting and demographic data collection requirements. The proposal targets not only the EEO-1 filing but also EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, and EEO-5 reports.

This article is part of an ongoing legal series designed to provide insight and practical guidance on current and emerging workplace compliance issues. These insights shared by lawyers are based on their interpretation of existing regulations and proposed changes, and intended for informational purposes, not to be regarded as legal advice.  

Today’s I-9 enforcement environment is defined by high-frequency enforcement surges and a web of overlapping federal regulations that demand absolute procedural precision.

Human resources leaders face mounting pressure from rapidly shifting employment laws across the country. Minnesota alone now ranks fourth among states with the most extensive employment law changes. Managing these state-level expansions alongside intense federal enforcement shifts requires a robust, proactive approach to workplace compliance.