President Trump has issued a new Executive Order formally rescinding Executive Order 11246 and directing the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to cease holding federal contractors responsible for taking affirmative action.
Executive Order 11246 was signed by President Johnson in 1965, and prohibits covered federal contractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of race and sex, among other characteristics, and requires these employers to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.”
President Trump’s new Executive Order, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, formally rescinds Executive Order 11246, among many other orders, and directs the OFCCP to cease:
- Promoting “diversity;”
- Holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking “affirmative action;”
- Allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.
The new Executive Order notes that federal contractors may, but are not required, to continue complying with OFCCP regulations through April 20, 2025. The Executive Order is silent with respect to contractors’ obligations under—and OFCCP’s enforcement of—Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 4212 of the Vietnam-Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.
Many questions remain about both the short- and long-term impact of the Executive Order, and the future of OFCCP. As of this morning, OFCCP has not commented publicly on the status of its regulations enforcing the now-rescinded Executive Order 11246, or the future of both pending and unscheduled compliance evaluations.
In the short term, please note that the recission of Executive Order 11246 does not directly impact other compliance obligations, including the preparation of affirmative action programs for individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, federal reporting requirements such as the EEO-1 and VETS-4212 reports, and state and local AAP and pay reporting requirements.
We expect additional executive actions in the weeks and months ahead, and we will continue to communicate developments as we learn more information. In the meantime, we encourage our clients to contact their client relationship manager with any immediate questions.