The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued additional guidance to Federal agencies on Wednesday regarding President Donald Trump’s recent executive order aimed at slashing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs.
The order revokes a 2021 DEIA executive order issued by former President Joe Biden and sets a 60-day deadline to “terminate” all DEIA programs within Federal agencies.
OPM issued a three-page memo that directs agencies to eliminate Special Emphasis Programs (SEPs), as well as certain programs related to equal employment opportunity, disability accessibility and accommodation, and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
“To promote a Federal workplace committed to equal dignity and respect, and to avoid expending precious taxpayer resources on wasteful and discriminatory programs, agencies should terminate all illegal DEIA initiatives,” the Feb. 5 memo says.
“Agencies should therefore eliminate DEIA offices, policies, programs, and practices (including policies, programs, and practices outside of any DEIA offices) that unlawfully discriminate in any employment action or other term, condition, or privilege of employment,” it adds.
According to OPM, this includes efforts related to recruitment, interviewing, hiring, internships, fellowships, promotions, retention, discipline, and separation, among others.
The agency says that agencies must also end “unlawful diversity requirements” for the composition of hiring panels, as well as for the composition of candidate pools.
However, OPM explains that this does not apply to, and agencies should retain, “personnel, offices, and procedures required by statute or regulation to counsel employees allegedly subjected to discrimination, receive discrimination complaints, collect demographic data, and process accommodation requests.”
If these duties were previously handled by a DEIA office, OPM advises agency heads to transfer them among personnel and offices at the agency.
As for accessibility, the memo notes that the Biden administration “conflated longstanding, legally required obligations related to disability accessibility and accommodation with DEI initiatives.”
“President Trump’s executive orders require the elimination of discriminatory practices. Agencies should thus rescind policies and practices that are contrary to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” the memo says. “But agencies should not terminate or prohibit accessibility or disability-related accommodations, assistance, or other programs that are required by those or related laws.”
Therefore, OPM says that agencies should still retain the “minimum number of employees necessary to ensure agency compliance with applicable disability and accessibility laws.”
With the current hiring freeze for Federal civilian employees, this means that agencies will need to draw upon their current employees to perform these duties. The Trump administration ordered layoffs for all Federal employees working in DEIA offices to begin on Jan. 22.
Additionally, the memo takes aim at Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) – which are voluntary, employee-led groups designed to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace.
“Consistent with the president’s orders, agencies should prohibit all discriminatory programs. They should thus prohibit ERGs that promote unlawful DEIA initiatives or advance recruitment, hiring, preferential benefits (including but not limited to training or other career development opportunities), or employee retention agendas based on protected characteristics,” the memo says.
Nevertheless, OPM says agency heads “retain the discretion to allow employees to host affinity group lunches, engage in mentorship programs, and otherwise gather for social and cultural events.” For these types of gatherings, OPM stresses that attendance must not be restricted by any protected characteristics.
Finally, the memo directs agencies to eliminate Special Emphasis Programs (SEPs) that promote “DEIA based on protected characteristics in any employment action or other term, condition, or privilege of employment.”
SEPs are employment-related programs that focus special attention on certain groups that are underrepresented. Instead, OPM says agencies should focus personnel efforts “on rewarding individual excellence.”
