The General Services Administration has published a class deviation directing the removal of provisions related to Executive Order 11246 from federal contracts. President Trump rescinded E.O. 11246 by issuing E.O. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.
A class deviation is a change in contracting policy that can be implemented more quickly than a formal revision of acquisition regulations. The class deviation here directs GSA’s contracting officers to modify new or open solicitations and newer contracts by removing clauses related to E.O. 11246. For contracts with fewer than six months remaining, it directs contracting officers to notify contractors that it will no longer enforce the FAR Clauses required by E.O. 11246.
The class deviation does not affect statutory requirements such as those imposed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, and other federal civil rights laws. The class deviation notes that contractors could still be asked about their E.O. 11246 compliance because the System for Award Management may lag these policy updates but states that contracting officers will neither consider their answers nor enforce the requirements.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.