Trump revokes EO 11246, ends federal contractors’ affirmative action plan obligations

On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” Among other things, the order revoked EO 11246, giving federal contractors 90 days to adjust to the new regulatory scheme.

What is EO 11246?

Issued by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, Section 2 of EO 11246 (along with its amendments) created the affirmative action program obligations, which most federal contractors had to comply with. EO 11246 also mandated certain language that had to appear in most government contracts, and the Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated several regulations meant to implement the EO’s requirements. Among these requirements were:

·     Filing an annual report with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) providing a demographic breakdown of the contractor’s workforce by race and sex;