Client Alert
What the New “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” Trump Executive Order Means for Employers
January 24, 2025
Following his inauguration on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has issued numerous executive orders, which may have an impact on employers.
In his first full day in office, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Trump Executive Order”). The Trump Executive Order rescinded a number of prior executive orders, most notably, Executive Order 11246, which imposed anti-discrimination and affirmative action requirements on federal government contractors.
Background on Executive Order 11246
Executive Order 11246, issued on September 26, 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson, prohibited federal contractors from discriminating against employees because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and required federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants and employees were treated equally regardless of these characteristics. Executive Order 11246 further mandated that federal contractors with at least 50 employees who do over $10,000 in government business in one year, develop and maintain Affirmative Action Programs. Executive Order 11246 also required federal contractors to review compensation practices for discrepancies between gender and race. During the Obama administration, Executive Order 11246 was amended to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity (Executive Order 13672).
What the Trump Executive Order Will Do
The Trump Executive Order rescinds Executive Order 11246 (among other Executive Orders[1]), and it directs the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, within the Department of Labor, to immediately cease: (1) promoting diversity; (2) enforcing affirmative action obligations under Executive Order 11246 (race, sex, religion, national origin, gender identity), including contractor obligations related to maintaining and implementing an affirmative action plan (the Trump Executive Order does not apply to affirmative action plans under the Rehabilitation Act (disability) or VEVRAA (veteran status)); and (3) allowing or encouraging federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin. The Trump Executive Order further directs that the employment, procurement, and contracting practices of federal contractors and subcontractors shall not “consider race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin in ways that violate the Nation’s civil rights laws.”
The Trump Executive Order further requires that every federal contract or grant award must now include a term certifying that the contractor or award recipient will not operate any programs promoting DEI, and a term requiring compliance “in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”
What the Trump Executive Order Means For Employers
If you are a federal contractor or subcontractor: Contact us. UB Greenfelder’s Employment and Labor group can help you understand what steps you should take to comply with the Trump Executive Order and how this Executive Order may impact your business.
If you are a non-federal contractor private employer: The Trump Executive Order does not currently apply to you. However, the Executive Order does provide insight into how the Trump administration plans to take steps to prevent private employers from promoting DEI in the workplace. For instance, the Trump Executive Order directs the Attorney General, in connection with heads of other relevant government agencies, to submit a report containing recommendations for “enforcing Federal civil-rights laws and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.”
UB Greensfelder will continue monitoring the Trump Executive Order and other executive orders issued by President Trump and share relevant updates in future client alerts. If you have questions regarding this alert, please contact your UB Greensfelder attorney or Chris Bailey to receive tailored advice and assistance.
The information provided in this client alert speaks only to the information and guidance we have available as of the date of publication and is subject to change. This legal update was created by UB Greensfelder LLP, and is not intended as a substitute for professional legal advice. Receipt of this client alert, by itself, does not create an attorney-client relationship. For any questions, or for further information, please contact your UB Greensfelder attorney.
[1] Along with Executive Order 11246, the following executive orders were revoked: Executive Order 12898 (February 11, 1994) (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations); Executive Order 13583 (August 18, 2011) (Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce); Executive Order 13672 (July 21, 2014) (Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity); and Presidential Memorandum of October 5, 2016 (Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the National Security Workforce).