GovDocs’ Webinar Employment Law Shifts: First 120 Days of Trump Administration tackles several of the notable employment law changes initiated by President Trump’s Second Administration. As stated by Presenter Jana Bjorklund, GovDocs Senior Counsel and Director, the Trump Administration has been “wildly busy” over the last four months, and much of it has been directed towards employment law.
In the webinar, Bjorklund identifies several key employment law shifts – including DEI, disparate impact liability, and federal contractor compliance – and discusses how these changes impact employers.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
There should be no surprise to employers that DEI has been a “hot button” since the start of Trump’s second term, as indicated by Bjorklund. Notably, she discusses two executive orders signed by President Trump earlier this year that had immediate impact to DEI:
Executive Order 14151 – Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
- Directs Office of Management and Budget to terminate “discriminatory programs” programs including “illegal DEI” in federal government
Executive Order 14173 – Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
- Ends DEI practices promoting diversity and implementing race and sex-based affirmative action programs in federal government
- Revokes E.O. 11246, and subsequent orders, stopping OFCCP enforcement
Due to the rescinded executive orders, Bjorklund describes on the one hand a shift in enforcement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). And while these DEI executive orders are not specifically directed towards private employers, there is potential risk if using a protected characteristic as a factor for employment decisions. On the other hand, there are several legal challenges making their way through the court system claiming that these executive orders are vague, violate First Amendment free speech rights, exceed executive authority, and so on.
So, what’s an employer to do? Bjorklund considers – “I think we are at the point where most companies value and understand the benefits of a diverse workforce and you can still have that.” The webinar provides several recommendations in handling these policy shifts, including a review of company DEI-related policies, programs, and training as well as ensuring that employment decisions are not based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics. Employers should also keep Employee Resource Groups open to everyone, focus on merit-based employment practices, and look out for reverse discrimination cases.
Bjorklund finally suggests revisiting the original business reason for DEI by asking, “What was your mission? Where did it start? Is that still pertinent? Do you need to tweak it?”
Disparate Impact Liability
Disparate impact liability includes employment practices that appear neutral on surface but result in a disproportionate adverse effect on individuals in a protected class. As described in the webinar, another executive order issued by President Trump in April 2025 targets disparate impact liability in employment:
Executive Order 14281 – Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy
- Creates policy goal of eliminating the use of disparate impact liability
- Directs Attorney General to repeal or amend Title VII regulations on race discrimination that consider disparate impact liability
- Deprioritizes enforcement and investigations into disparate impact liability
As a key takeaway, Bjorklund reminds employers that “while this order represents the present administration’s enforcement priorities and interpretation of Title VII, it doesn’t change the law for most employers…it does represent a shift in enforcement priorities that sharply contrasts with prior administrations.”
Federal Contractors
In addition to DEI and disparate impact liability, Bjorklund also calls out several other executive orders directed towards federal contractor compliance:
Executive Order 14236 – Additional Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
- Revokes Biden’s E.O. 14026, which increased the federal contractor minimum wage for contracts entered into on or after Jan. 30, 2022
- DOL no longer enforces E.O. 14026 but E.O.13658 still in effect with the $13.30 federal contractor minimum wage
Executive Order 14148 – Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
- Rescinds E.O.14069 leading FAR council to withdraw proposed rule promoting pay equity and transparency for federal contractor job applicants
- Federal contractors and federal workforce will NOT be required to include pay ranges in job postings
Executive Order 14173 – Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
- Revokes E.O. 12246 protecting applicants and employees of federal contractors from discrimination due to inquiring about, disclosing, or discussing their compensation or the compensation of other applicants or employees
- Ends race and sex-based affirmative action programs in federal government
Bjorklund concludes, “At the end of the day, the theme is really just ‘stay tuned.’ We are living in an environment where we have seen a significant change in the direction of enforcement and the focus on employment law and the legal challenges to all of this activity, and nothing is settled yet. So, we are all going to be very busy keeping ahead of these changes and the updates.”
Source(s):
Holle, D. (2025, June 3). Webinar Recap: Employment Law Shifts: First 120 Days of Trump Administration. GovDocs. https://www.govdocs.com/home-page-resources-webinars-employment-law-shifts-first-120-days-of-trump-administration/
Employment Law Shifts: First 120 Days of Trump Administration. (2025, May 28). GovDocs. https://www.govdocs.com/home-page/resources/webinars/employment-law-shifts-first-120-days-of-trump-administration/