On May 1, 2012, President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan during which he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement. The Agreement spells out the plan for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan over the coming years.

Criminal background checks have always been somewhat of a controversial tool for hiring decisions. The EEOC has previously issued several guidance statements calling into question employment policies that exclude any job candidate with a criminal record. On April 25, the EEOC issued a further guidance document on this subject.