Trump curbs federal office that policed contractor discrimination

President Donald Trump’s January 21 executive order revoked the 1965 rule that let the Labor Department police discrimination at roughly 200,000 federal contractor establishments. The change sharply curtailed the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the agency that had been charged with making sure contractors and subcontractors did not discriminate and took affirmative action.

Under Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Labor Department could press contractors on hiring, promotion and workplace practices, and it also enforced protections tied to veterans and workers with disabilities. The OFCCP issued its first public statement after the revocation on January 23, 2025, as the administration moved to unwind the enforcement structure built around it.

The Government Accountability Office said OFCCP was responsible for overseeing about 200,000 contractor establishments. By March 10, 2025, the office had been significantly changed, and the administration halted enforcement of active investigations and proposed eliminating the agency altogether.

In January 2025, the administration also directed a broader retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion requirements for federal contractors and grant recipients, barring some DEI programs and discrimination-related practices. The Center for American Progress said the change made 36 million workers newly vulnerable to discrimination and harassment.

In an April 15 letter, former Labor Department officials wrote that the country had spent more than six decades upholding a promise that businesses working for the government must actively combat discrimination and create opportunities for all workers. The National Employment Law Project also condemned the dismantling of the workplace civil-rights enforcement agency.

In October 2024, a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction in ABM Industry Groups, LLC v. U.S. Department of Labor, halting one OFCCP enforcement action.