On Monday, the White House on Monday afternoon released a copy of an executive order signed by President Trump that revokes all or part of three previous executive orders concerning federal contracting (TheFair Pay and Safe Workplaces). The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order requires that companies receiving large federal contracts be able to demonstrate that they have complied for at least three years with 14 federal laws, which includes the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Action, the Family and Medical Leave Act and Title VII of the Civils Rights Act. By taking away the requirement that federal contractors have to demonstrate that they have not violated these federal laws, the Trump administration has made it extremely difficult to enforce these federal laws as applied to federal contractors.

The 14 affected federal laws and regulations affected by the new Trump executive order also includes Executive Order 11246, signed in 1965 by President Johnson. Executive Order 11246 prohibited federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Four years later, President Nixon added discrimination based on disability and age. In 1998, President Clinton added sexual orientation. And in 2014, President Obama added gender identity (Order 13673), plus prohibited federal contractors, too, from discriminating against their employees based on these categories.

It should be noted that the substance of the laws are still there, but enforcement has become more difficult and increases the possibilities that companies will get away with employment discrimination because a person has a disability, or because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or gender identity.

Executive Order – Revocation of Federal Contracting Executive Orders: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/27/presidential-executive-order-revocation-federal-contracting-executive

Executive Order – Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/executive-order-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces

(Image description: President Trump is sitting at a desk signing a document that is in a folder)