Trump’s first week: Federal workplace remade, affirmative action revoked, DEI banished

President Donald Trump began his second term fulfilling major parts of his domestic agenda: banning immigration, pardoning insurrectionists, and remaking the federal workforce, including all those who do work for the federal government. In this article, we will focus on the federal workforce and its contractors.

Major shift on Day One

The president took wide-ranging actions on Inauguration Day intended to reshape the federal workforce and influence labor and employment law enforcement. He signed a slew of Executive Orders (EOs) on Day One that included the revival of his “Schedule F” policy to make it easier to fire select career employees, and the elimination of government diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. He also directed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to recognize only two sexes—male and female—when enforcing antidiscrimination laws.

Altogether, the efforts mark the start of a major shift in workplace policies that will more than likely generate litigation for years to come.

The new president on Monday also reversed dozens of Biden-era orders, including a sweeping measure to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). As part of the AI directive, the DOL, for example, had begun laying the groundwork for guardrails on hiring discrimination and job displacement tied to the new technology.

Furthermore, the president announced a broad regulatory freeze that would apply generally to labor and employment agencies.

Executive Orders attack the civil service