On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order 13950, “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.” The Executive Order set forth the policy of the United States “not to promote race or sex-stereotyping or scapegoating” and prohibited federal contractors from instilling such views in their employees in workplace diversity and inclusion training. More information about the Executive Order is available infrequently asked questions on the topic.
In response to this Executive Order, advocacy organizations that provided training to local government agencies on topics including, systemic racism, intersectionality, gender identity, and gender expression, and sexual orientation brought an action against the President of the United States and other government agencies and officials challenging the constitutionality of certain sections of the Executive Order. The organizations specifically requested the trial court issue a nationwide preliminary injunction to stop the Federal government from enforcing the Executive Order. The trial court considered the request and after oral arguments on December 10, 2020, granted the preliminary injunction against the Executive Order effective December 22, 2020. (Santa Cruz Lesbian & Gay Cmty. Ctr. v. Trump (2020) __ F.3d __ [2020 WL 7640460].)
As a result, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor issued a notice regarding the injunction and Executive Order. Specifically, the notice states the Office will not accept any complaints regarding Federal contractors’ alleged noncompliance with Executive Order 13950, will stop the investigation of any alleged non-compliance with Executive Order 13950, and will not take any enforcement action because of any complaint. Additionally, the Office will not publish any additional Requests for Information seeking information regarding the training, workshops, or programming provided to employees of government contractors with regard to compliance or noncompliance with Executive Order 13950. Finally, the Office will not enforce any of the provisions required by Section 4(a) of Executive Order 13950 contained in government contracts or subcontracts to the extent those provisions were already included.
Read the Notice regarding Executive Order 13950 here.