Pres. Biden has revoked Pres. Trump’s controversial executive order on diversity and inclusion training. The order, Executive Order 13950, placed restrictions on the content that federal contractors, grantees, and agencies, as well as the military, could cover in employee training. AGC and other stakeholders in the business community called on Pres. Trump to withdraw the confusing order last October. In December, a federal court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction temporarily halting implementation of the restrictions on federal contractors and grantees.
The court found that the plaintiffs – a number of nonprofit organizations that provide diversity and inclusion training as federal contractors and grantees – were likely to prevail on their claims that the executive order violates their rights under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Pres. Biden revoked the executive order in a new Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The new executive order – which was one of about 17 directives Biden issued on his first day in office – also instructs the heads of federal agencies to review agency actions related to Executive Order 13950 and, within 60 days of the new order, to “consider suspending, revising, or rescinding any such actions, including all agency actions to terminate or restrict contracts or grants pursuant to Executive Order 13950.”
AGC supports federal contractors’ freedom to conduct training that promotes diversity and combats discrimination in the workplace. AGC has launched its own diversity and inclusion initiative called Culture of Care to advance the construction industry as the industry of choice for diverse and talented workers by building inclusive work environments in firms nationwide.
For more info, contact Denise Gold at denise.gold@agc.org or Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org.