On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued a new executive order aimed at repealing disparate impact liability. The order, titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/), frames equal treatment under the law as “equality of opportunity, not equal outcomes.”
Disparate impact is a theory of liability that grew out of equal employment
On his second day in office, January 21, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” This Executive Order reverses roughly 60 years of federal policy and leaves many employers with questions about the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and affirmative action programs (AAPs). Federal contractors
On January 21, 2025, the White House announced an Executive Order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The Order instructs federal agencies to take administrative and legal action against diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) programs, which it defines as systems of race- and sex-based preferences. The Order is directed at both public- and
Once again, employers are being given an old line: we are from the federal government and we’re here to help you . . . with your office decorating. Shortly after his inauguration, President Obama issued Executive Order 13496 (the “Order”). The Order directed that all federal contractors post a notice to their employees advising the employees of their
Last week, President Obama signed an executive order prohibiting all federal employees from text messaging while driving on official business or while using government equipment. Click here to read President Obama’s executive order on texting while driving. While President Obama’s order does not effect private employers, it does directs federal agencies to encourage contractors and
President Obama recently signed his fourth labor-friendly executive order, this time allowing the federal government to require project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale federal construction projects. This order overturns a prior order from President Bush disallowing PLAs. Click here to read the text of the order. This latest action follows Obama’s three executive orders
On January 30, 2009 President Obama signed three executive orders affecting federal contractors and their employees. Two of the three orders affect union rights. (Click the title of each order to download it).