Trump Ends Rule That Stopped Discrimination in Federal Jobs

President Donald Trump has canceled an old rule that helped stop discrimination at workplaces involving federal contractors.

This rule, created during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s time right after the Civil Rights Act, made sure that federal employers did not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

On Wednesday, President Trump called this rule “radical DEI” and said that the Labor Department can no longer force contractors to hire a diverse workforce based on race, sex, or other factors.

He claimed that removing this rule is “the most important federal civil rights measure in decades.”

However, the Labor Department had previously praised this rule as a “historic step towards equal employment opportunity” and a crucial protection for millions of workers.

The department’s website highlighted its key role in ending discrimination based on race, religion, and ethnicity starting from the period before World War II.

Critics, like Judy Conti from the National Employment Law Project, strongly disagree with Trump’s decision.

Conti said that this move does not promote true merit-based hiring but rather tries to return to a time when women, people of color, and other marginalized groups were unfairly treated and didn’t have the means to fight for fair evaluation based on their skills and abilities.