One of the Executive Orders signed by President Trump this week was Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity – The White House. It revokes Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity, issued in September 1965, which requires affirmative action and prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

The language revoking Executive Order 11246 states as follows:

(i) Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 (Equal Employment Opportunity), is hereby revoked. For 90 days from the date of this order, Federal contractors may continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in effect on January 20, 2025.

(ii) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs within the Department of Labor shall immediately cease:

• (A) Promoting “diversity”;
• (B) Holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking “affirmative action”; and
• (C) Allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.

(iii) In accordance with Executive Order 13279 of December 12, 2002 (Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations), 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.

(iv) The head of each agency shall include in every contract or grant award:

• (A) A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code; and
• (B) A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to certify that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.
• (C) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), with the assistance of the Attorney General as requested, shall:
  • (i) Review and revise, as appropriate, all Government-wide processes, directives, and guidance;
  • (ii) Excise references to DEI and DEIA principles, under whatever name they may appear, from Federal acquisition, contracting, grants, and financial assistance procedures to streamline those procedures, improve speed and efficiency, lower costs, and comply with civil-rights laws; and
  • (iii) Terminate all “diversity,” “equity,” “equitable decision-making,” “equitable deployment of financial and technical assistance,” “advancing equity,” and like mandates, requirements, programs, or activities, as appropriate.

The Taft Government Contracts group will provide updates as we learn more.