On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president and quickly issued a sweeping set of executive orders aimed at reversing Biden administration policies related to diversity, immigration, national security and climate. The orders require enactment through the regulatory process and will not take immediate effect; some have already been subjected to lawsuits that may delay implementation.
Below is a breakdown of workforce-related executive orders. Additional analysis of other construction-related orders can be found by visiting constructionexec.com/article/executive-decision-an-analysis-of-trump-executive-orders.
IMMIGRATION
President Trump issued a flurry of executive orders related to immigration action items on Jan. 20. ABC recommends every contractor take all precautions in the hiring process to verify each potential employee is eligible to work legally in the United States, including using the E-Verify system.
Following the laws of supply and demand, mass deportations could constrain the availability of labor, which could stifle the ability of the industry to build the construction projects demanded by the marketplace. In other words, the supply of labor may not meet the demand, which could drive up costs, or consumer demand would adjust. And if the worker supply is constrained, employers would most likely adjust their employee value proposition to enhance their position in the marketplace.
FEDERAL WORKFORCE
President Trump ordered all department and agency chiefs in executive departments to eliminate work-from-home options and return employees to in-person work “as soon as practicable.” His administration has also issued a hiring freeze for federal employees to make good on his promise to deliver more efficiency in the federal government.
ENDING DEI PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES
President Trump signed an executive order, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, which directs all federal agencies to “terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements,” to enforce “longstanding civil-rights laws,” and to “combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs and activities.”
The EO lists several other EOs that the Trump administration is revoking. Notably, the Trump EO revokes Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity, which has required federal contractors to have affirmative action plans since 1965. Additionally, the EO orders the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to immediately cease “promoting diversity,” “holding federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking ‘affirmative action,’” and “allowing or encouraging federal contractors or subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.” The EO claims these actions are meant to streamline the federal contracting process “to enhance speed and efficiency, reduce costs and require federal contractors and subcontractors to comply with our civil-rights laws.”
This order states that “for 90 days from the date of this order, Federal contractors may continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in effect on January 20, 2025.”
Additionally, the EO directs each federal agency to include in every federal contract or grant award a term requiring contractual counterparties or grant recipients to agree that it is in compliance with all applicable federal anti-discrimination laws and a term requiring the counterparty or recipient to certify that it does not operate “any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws.”
It is important to note that requirements under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 793, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), 38 U.S.C. 4212, both enforced by the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Program, are statutory and remain in effect.
The EO also includes orders to encourage the private sector to cease DEI programs and initiatives. Specifically, the EO directs the Attorney General, in consultation with other relevant agencies, to promulgate a report with recommendations to enforce civil rights laws and encourage the private sector to end DEI practices. The report is required to identify “the most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners in each sector of concern.” It also requires each agency to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations as a way to deter DEI programs or principles.
On Feb. 21, a Federal Court issued a preliminary injunction against several provisions of Trump’s EOs on DEI. Read ABC general counsel Littler’s analysis (up-to-date as of press time, March 10, 2025) at littler.com/publication-press/publication/federal-court-enjoins-trump-administrations-broad-attack-dei for more information.
