What does Trump’s executive order say on workplace diversity programs? , civil rights news

President Donald Trump has begun slashing equal opportunity programs through two executive orders since his first day in the White House. Through these, they have also rescinded the 60-year-old executive order that originally implemented the equality and diversity program in the United States.

Here’s more about how Trump is dismantling federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which he’s called “radical,” “illegal” and “discriminatory.”

What are these orders about?

Of the 26 executive orders Trump signed on Monday, two are relevant to this: one calls for eliminating federal DEI programs and the other calls for reforming federal hiring.

Ending federal DEI programs

In an executive order titled Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferences, Trump declared that the Joe Biden administration had “forced out illegal and immoral discrimination programs”.

DEI, also known as DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access), refers to a set of measures and frameworks within organizations to make themselves more inclusive and eliminate discrimination against historically disadvantaged communities. Let’s try to stop.

The core values ​​of DEI include:

• Diversity: Acceptance of people from different backgrounds
• equity: Fair and equal treatment of all people regardless of background
• Inclusion: Ensuring that minorities are not under-represented or left behind because of their identity

The Executive Order states that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), with assistance from the Attorney General, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) should now work on eliminating DEI programs operated within the federal government.

For this purpose, federal employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs will be formally reviewed.

Reforming the Federal Hiring Process

Trump also signed another order on Monday reforming the federal hiring process and restoring eligibility to government service. It states that current federal hiring practices are flawed and no longer focus on merit or “dedication to our Constitution.”

The order calls on federal agency leaders to develop a federal hiring plan, revising the way federal employees are hired or fired, emphasizing merit-based decisions over political considerations, within 120 days of the order. Let it be given. The order states that the federal hiring plan “shall prevent individuals from being hired based on their race, sex, or religion”.

What about the private sector?

As far as the private sector is concerned, on Tuesday Trump also issued a separate presidential action – rather than an executive order – titled Ending Unlawful Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.

It calls for “encouraging the private sector to end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences” and directs all federal agencies to identify nine publicly traded companies or other entities that could be subject to civil investigation. Can happen.

The action also says the agencies will be required to “investigate” private companies, nonprofits, and associations, as well as large foundations and colleges with endowments valued at more than $1 billion that are adopting DEI practices. Must have been.

What is the Equal Employment Opportunity Order of 1965 that Trump is repealing?

Trump’s executive order on DEI programs states, “Executive Order 11246 (Equal Employment Opportunity) of September 24, 1965, is rescinded.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Order (PDF) was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat president from 1963 to 1969. It prohibited federal contractors from discriminating in employment decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

It also called for affirmative action, which is a policy favoring individuals who have historically been deprived of workplace opportunities. The concept of affirmative action was first introduced by Democrat President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Johnson’s 1965 executive order was opposed by segregationists and Republicans who believed in segregating places based on race.

The order was signed to prevent employment discrimination against women and minorities. It came amid the growing civil rights movement in the US, which marked the emergence of identity politics in the country following a series of mass protests and civil disobedience over discrimination against black people and women.

In 1964, a year before Executive Order 11246, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which also banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In 1965, African Americans were finally granted the right to vote through the Voting Rights Act.

Who are DEI activists?

Federal DEI staff are professionals such as trainers in diversity offices. It’s unclear how many federal DEI employees there are in total, according to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the BBC reports. AFGE is a union consisting of 800,000 federal and Washington, DC government employees in the US and around the world.

Many businesses and other organizations accelerated the hiring of DEI employees following the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer on a street in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2020. This was because “companies tried to demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion,” according to an article published on the website of Diversity Resources, a Colorado-based human resources organization.

The White House has now said that all federal DEI employees will be placed on paid administrative leave as of 5 p.m. (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday. By this time, all DEI-focused webpages will also be offline. Currently, DEI-focused pages on many federal websites are now offline, displaying error messages.

How do Americans feel about DEI?

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in February 2023 showed that 56 percent of American workers surveyed believe that focusing on DEI at work is a good thing. Sixteen percent thought it was a bad thing and 28 percent of respondents were neutral.

“Cancelling these programs is another way for President Trump to undermine the merit-based civil service and turn federal hiring and firing decisions into loyalty tests,” a press release published Tuesday by the federal employee union AFGE said. “

“Programs that promote an inclusive workforce ensure that rules apply equally to everyone, while also helping to create a federal government that serves diverse populations.”

However, there is growing opposition to DEI programs in the US, especially among conservatives. The Pew survey was conducted as major companies were laying off their DEI staff, a sign that organizations have also begun to reject such plans.

As of November 2021, DEI roles were leaving companies almost twice as fast as non-DEI roles, according to a report published by New York-based workforce database Revelio Labs.

Between July and December 2022, the largest outflows of DEI employees occurred at Amazon, Applebee’s, and X, then called Twitter.

In June 2023, the US Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action for college applications, concluding that race-conscious admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. This happened when the non-profit legal advocacy organization Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a lawsuit alleging that Harvard College and the University of North Carolina had violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Because they were discriminated against in the admission process. Asian-American students. SFFA was founded in 2014 by conservative legal activist Edward Blum.

Subsequently, several companies, including McDonald’s, Walmart, Ford, Lowe’s, John Deere, and Tractor Supply, also withdrew their DEI programs.

On January 3, 2024, tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump has chosen to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted on Twitter: “DEI is just another word for racism. Anyone using it should be ashamed.”