Compliance Stuff

On October 31, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington halted enforcement of Section 3(b)(iv) of  Executive Order 14173  (the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Order”) and Section 3(g) of  Executive Order (EO) 14168  (the “Gender Order”) against the City of Seattle by granting a preliminary injunction. In  City of Seattle v. Trump , the court found the City of Seattle was likely to succeed on its Administrative Procedure Act claims, concluding that the challenged funding conditions exceeded statutory authority, implicated separation-of-powers principles, and were arbitrary and capricious. The court ordered immediate remedial steps, declaring past implementation actions null and void and requiring a compliance status report within three days. The injunction is limited to the City of Seattle and does not extend nationwide; however, it sets the stage for future injunctive relief actions. Quick Hits The U.S. District Court for the ...

At a Glance The EEOC has regained a quorum, enabling it to make new policy, revisit old policies and guidance, and take other significant actions. A reconstituted EEOC is expected to turn its attention to “illegal” DEI, religious discrimination, PWFA regulations, harassment guidance, and LGBTQ employees, among other areas. On October 7, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Brittany Panuccio to be a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) . When she takes her seat, absent something unusual happening, she will restore the agency’s quorum. Now that the agency is fully empowered, what might employers expect from the agency going forward? 1 By way of background, since late January, the Commission has lacked a quorum. On Inauguration Day, there were four sitting commissioners—three Democratic appointees, and one Republican (Commissioner Andrea Lucas) who was immediately designated acting chair. In late January, however, the White House took the unprec...

  President Donald Trump is just 21 days into his second term in office, but you might already be struggling to keep up with the number of changes and policy shifts coming from the new administration. While new presidents are typically judged based on their actions in their first 100 days, Trump’s whirlwind first three weeks warrant taking a pause to make sure you’re caught up on all the changes impacting key workplace issues. Major policy shifts have already affected immigration, DEI programs, equal employment opportunity, labor relations, and artificial intelligence. Here’s your 21-day recap: 1. Immigration What happened?  President Trump  took swift immigration action , signing 10 executive orders relating to immigration policy on day one. Among other things, those orders  declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border ,  reinstated the "remain in Mexico" policy and terminated the asylum-related mobile app , and  designated Mexican criminal car...

  A pair of back-to-back moves from the new Trump administration demonstrates a c lear shift in the way the federal government will approach EEO and anti-bias laws over the course of the next several years . On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order announcing that the federal government will recognize only two sexes while rolling back Biden-era EEO workplace guidance on LGBTQ+ harassment. And the next day, Trump appointed EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas – a vocal critic of DEI programs and other Biden administration policies – as Acting Chair of the Commission . What do you need to know about these actions, and what are the five key takeaways for your workplace? “Gender Ideology” Executive Order Signed within hours after Trump took office, the executive order is officially titled, “ Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government .” It mandates that the federal government recognize only two biologic...