One day into his second term, President Trump issued a sweeping Executive Order (E.O.) formally rescinding E.O. 11246. Trump’s order, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, directs the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to immediately stop promoting diversity, holding federal contractors responsible for taking affirmative action, and allowing or encouraging contractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.
The new Executive Order allows federal contractors to comply with OFCCP regulations through April 20, 2025. The Executive Order is silent about contractors’ obligations under—and OFCCP’s enforcement of—Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 4212 of the Vietnam-Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.
The new Executive Order also directs federal agencies to incorporate into federal contracts new clauses that will require a contractor to “certify that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”
Many questions remain about the Executive Order’s impact and OFCCP’s future. The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, will hold a members-only roundtable January 29 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
CWC members can read more here.