Following is a statement from Judy Conti, government affairs director of the National Employment Law Project:
“Since 1965, presidents from both parties have embraced the principle that our tax dollars should not subsidize illegal and discriminatory hiring and employment practices.
“For six decades, Executive Order 11246 protected federal contract workers from workplace discrimination. The executive order enabled the U.S. Department of Labor to evaluate and audit federal contractors to ensure they weren’t intentionally or unknowingly discriminating against workers because of their race, age, national origin, sex, religion, or any other protected category. Federal contract workers represent roughly one-fifth of the U.S. labor force.
“Last night, President Trump revoked this authority, and ordered the Labor Department to cease all proactive efforts to ensure that federal contractors use the best legal employment practices to ensure hiring processes and workplaces are free from illegal discrimination.
“With this order, the president gutted key tools to prevent discrimination and root it out at its core. This is not a return to so-called ‘meritocracy.’ Rather, it’s an attempted return to the days when people of color, women, and other marginalized people lacked the tools to ensure that they were evaluated on their merits.
“In a society with persistent occupational segregation, we need more tools—not fewer—to build a good-jobs economy where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
“Let’s be clear: federal contract workers maintain the right to be free from discrimination. NELP will work tirelessly with workers and our allies to make sure that the president’s attempt to eviscerate longstanding civil rights protections will fail. We will not let the progress we’ve made toward ensuring that all workers are free from discrimination fade away.”
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