On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the appointment of Catherine Eschbach as Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the agency charged with overseeing regulation and enforcement of affirmative action laws for government contractors and subcontractors. Eschbach signaled a shift in the agency’s mission, stating the OFCCP “will restore a merit-based system to provide all workers with equal opportunity.”… Continue Reading
Following President Trump’s issuance of Executive Order 14148 on January 20, 2025, which rescinded 78 executive actions taken by Former President Biden, the President rescinded an additional slew of Biden-era executive actions on March 14. Among the 18 executive actions revoked is a duo of Executive Orders which applied to federal contractors and subcontractors and will impact labor and employment issues:
On March 10, 2025, in a 67-32 vote, the Senate confirmed the appointment of one-term Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as the 30th Secretary of Labor and former EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling as Deputy Secretary.
Formally nominated by President Trump on January 20, 2025, Chavez-DeRemer (R) represented Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District from 2022-2024, sitting on House Committees for Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, and Transportation and Infrastructure.… Continue Reading
On March 19, 2025, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the release of two technical assistance documents which are “focused on educating the public about unlawful discrimination related to ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) in the workplace.” The EEOC and the DOJ released a joint one-page technical assistance document titled “What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work,” and the EEOC also released a longer question-and-answer technical assistance document titled “What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work” (collectively, the “Guidance”).… Continue Reading
On February 19, the EEOC, through its acting chair Andrea Lucas, pledged rigorous enforcement of civil rights laws against companies that show bias for foreign workers, including visa holders, over US citizens. The change comes amidst the Trump Administration’s wider focus away from protecting immigrants and other demographic groups that have been historically viewed as primary targets of discrimination.… Continue Reading
Last week brought further developments related to the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail what it views as illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. A federal court denied the Trump administration’s motion to stay a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of most elements of President Trump’s Executive Orders 14173 Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity and 14151 Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing (collectively, “the DEI Executive Orders”).… Continue Reading
Reverberations from the Trump administration’s recent executive order (EO) denouncing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices intensified on February 21, 2025, when a federal judge in Baltimore issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on enforcement of much of the EO. The ruling comes on the heels of a guidance memo issued earlier this month by 16 Democratic state attorneys general in which the state AGs argue that DEI best practices are not illegal.… Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel has moved quickly to undo the work of his predecessor, a Biden appointee, who President Trump recently removed from office. On February 14, 2025, Acting General Counsel William B. Cowen rescinded more than a dozen guidance memoranda that many employers considered to be significantly favorable to unions. … Continue Reading
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are facing unprecedented challenges. From the rise in reverse discrimination claims to the coordinated legal and political attacks on both public and private DEI programs—particularly in the wake of the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA) decision—and now the implications of the recent Trump administration Executive Orders, organizations must navigate an increasingly uncertain landscape.… Continue Reading
Pamela Bondi, the newly sworn in Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ), issued a flurry of memos and directives in her first 24 hours on the job. Building on President Trump’s executive orders related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Bondi issued two memos that direct the DOJ’s attention and resources to ending “illegal discrimination and preferences” – (1) Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination and Preferences; and (2) Eliminating Internal Discriminatory Practices.… Continue Reading