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CNN
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President Donald Trump annulled this week a decree of almost 60 years that prohibited government contractors from discriminating against their contracting, dismissal, promotion or remuneration practices.
Instead, there is a new requirement that these employers certify that they do not have what they described as “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs, also known as Dei. He also ordered each federal agency to identify up to nine federal research objectives on their DEI practices to see if they should be considered “illegal”. That includes private corporations that quote on the stock market, large corporations or non -profit associations and large foundations.
The decree that Trump annulled, originally signed by President Lyndon Johnson, applied to practically all large companies and many small companies that, together, employ about a quarter of workers in the United States. He had remained in force during Democratic and Republican governments, including Trump’s first mandate.
And its measure has generated the concern that even companies that see a value in having a diverse workforce and leadership will be nervous about reaching women, minorities and other protected classes, and that they will abandon those efforts in Place of running the risk of conflicting with the new administration.
The actions make it clear that Trump intends to do more than fight the federal government of the controversial programs of Dei. It seeks to end many efforts from a wide range of employers who had been taking measures to have a more diverse workforce.
This decree, little known and dates from 60 years ago, allowed to investigate the employment practices of contractors already often discovered cases of discrimination that even affected employees did not know. And the threat of these investigations, and the requirements of the standards, were a powerful engine of diversity efforts throughout the economy.
Critics of the measure are concerned that many employers see Trump’s action as a sign that they no longer have to worry about facing sanctions to discriminate in their employment practices.
“Those who have been more reluctant and reluctant (to carry out dissemination activities) will receive the message that everything can happen, and you can do what you want,” said Jocelyn Frye, president of National Partnership for Women & Families, a group of interest public.
Trump presented the measure as a guarantee of employment based on merit. He said that his measures will guarantee that “hiring, promotions and performance evaluations will reward individual initiative, skills, performance and hard work and not, under any circumstances, factors, objectives, policies, mandates or requirements related to the Dei ”.
But the decree that annulled, known as EO 11246, “did not allow quotas, preferences or exclusions. They are strictly prohibited, ”according to the norms established by the Department of Labor. Yes, it forced companies that have contracts with the government to present annual data on their employment practices, and those reports could lead to a discrimination finding that forced employers to compensate workers who will be discriminated against.
Around a quarter of the people who were determined that they had been discriminated against, and who received compensation, were white men, said Craig Leen, head of the office of the Labor Department that supervised the decree during most of Trump’s first mandate .
Leen said that terminating the decree does not give contractors green to begin to discriminate. He said they must still comply with the title VII of the Civil Rights Law of 1964 that prohibits discrimination.
“I think they will continue to enforce non -discrimination,” said Leen, who is now a private sector lawyer. He said that Trump’s measure is due to conservative suspicion that companies are hiring based on race or gender.
“There has been a concern on the Republican side for a long time, that sometimes (contractors) do have preferences and quotas,” he said.
However, read defends entrepreneurs’ efforts to have a more diverse workforce. In their opinion, those who do not seek infrarepresented groups during the hiring process before making a hiring or promotion decision not only harm themselves, but also harm the US economy in general.
“You cannot hire everyone for mouth to mouth and all are men (white). That violates title VII, is in force (el) 11246 or not, ”he said. “So if you really want to hire based on merit, which is what Trump’s decree) … means you have to audit every year. You have to make sure you are giving women the same opportunity to be promoted as men. ”
But title VII does not force companies to provide information about their employment practices. Without Decree 11246, it will be more difficult for people to confirm that they are being discriminated, and there will be much less controls about entrepreneurs who do practice discrimination, consciously or unconsciously. Most people who do not get a job do not know anything about the decision -making process.
“You have to know to file a complaint about it,” says Frye, of the National Partnership for Women & Families. With Decree 11246, the Department of Labor could “go in situ and check if employers fulfill their obligation. (Repeal) erodes its ability to do so ”.
Even some employers who believe they benefit from a diverse workforce could stop promoting their dissemination and other programs for fear of being the object of new policies.
“They have to certify that they do not have an illegal Dei program. That has not been defined in the interpretation of the decree, ”said David Fortney, a lawyer who worked in the Labor Department under the administration of George W. Bush. “I have customers who start asking that question. The answer is that we do not know for sure. Sorry for the word game, I don’t know if there is a black and white answer about it. ”
“My experience is that most customers firmly believe that having a diverse template in a broad sense produces better results,” he said. “I think it will potentially have a certain level of intimidating effects.”
(Tagstotranslate) Donald Trump (T) Dei
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