2025 uS Executive Orders, DEI, and Employment: how In-house Lawyers can Assist Business

Remind me, what’s an executive order?

Executive orders are regulations ordered by the president of the United States that direct government companies and authorities to take specific actions. While they are not laws, they have the force of law and effect how existing laws are executed or enforced.

Executive orders impact the firms of the executive branch and therefore do not need the approval of Congress. They should be within the president’s constitutional authority and might be challenged in court if deemed unconstitutional.

Executive orders might be rescinded, reversed by future presidents, or challenged in court, and enforcement concerns can alter during any administration.

The brand-new administration’s actions have far-reaching results beyond executive orders. For more on mitigating risk, global services can seize brand-new opportunities by staying nimble.

Implications of the executive orders for DEI efforts and employment in private-sector companies

On Jan. 21, President Trump issued “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which reverses various prior executive orders and memoranda, including Executive Order 11246 (EO 11246) checked in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

EO 11246 needed every federal government agreement to consist of a declaration that the contractor will not victimize any staff member or applicant for employment based on race, creed, color, or nationwide origin.

Despite President Trump’s new executive order, the underlying federal anti-discrimination law remains the same for private-sector workers.

However, the executive order signals that there may be changing enforcement priorities in the brand-new administration. The order directs all federal firms to “combat illegal private-sector DEI choices, requireds, policies, programs, and activities.”

In December 2024, President-elect Trump tapped Harmeet K. Dhillon to lead the Justice Department’s civil liberties office, pointing to his record of “suing corporations who utilize ‘woke’ policies to discriminate against their employees.”

In addition to withdrawing EO 11246, the Jan. 21 executive order advises each company of the federal government to recognize “approximately nine prospective civic compliance investigations” of economic sector entities within 120 days of the order – by May 21, 2025.

The economic sector entities subject to these examinations consist of publicly traded corporations, big nonprofits – consisting of bar associations – big foundations, and universities whose endowments go beyond US$ 1 billion.

Organizations that may be targeted should ask:

– What is my organization’s risk tolerance?

– How will staff members react to the business’s actions?

– How will customers and stakeholders respond?

What internal counsel should think of:

Assess any federal agreements and grants

– Determine if they include any terms or conditions associated with DEI that might clash with existing laws and guidelines

Review your organization’s existing DEI policies to understand your risk

– Get ready for increased scrutiny and possible civil compliance examinations

Document, document, file

– Hiring and recruitment processes

– Performance assessments and promotion decisions

– Training materials and presence records

– Any changes to DEI policies

Implications for federal professionals

To name a few measures, the Jan. 21 Executive Order needs the heads of federal companies to consist of specific terms in every contract or referall.us grant award:

– “A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to concur that its compliance in all respects with all relevant Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the federal government’s payment choices for purposes of area 3729( b)( 4) of title 31, United States Code”; and

– “A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to license that it does not run any programs promoting DEI that breach any suitable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”

Section 3729 of title 31 of the United States Code is a provision of the US False Claims Act, a federal law that imposes civil penalties on those who make false claims to the government in order to affect the payment or receipt of cash or property.

The certification requirement brings a potential threat of lawsuits for federal specialists under the False Claims Act. In-house lawyers at federal specialists hence have a particular interest in guaranteeing their organization’s policies, treatments, practices, interactions and material, are reviewed. Assess if adjustments are needed to mitigate the threat of litigation.

Executive orders targeting unlawful migration

President Trump’s initial flurry of executive orders included numerous – such as the Jan. 20 executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” – focused on restricting unlawful migration and deporting illegal immigrants. The orders call for enforcement actions by federal companies versus illegal immigration.

In-house lawyers need to consider examining their company’s work eligibility verification process. They may likewise wish to consider whether the company is prepared for reacting to an I-9 audit or a worksite enforcement action (or raid) by immigration enforcement agencies.

Sectors that might be especially impacted consist of agriculture, hospitality, and other markets such as construction. From 2020-2022, 42 percent of crop farmworkers held no work permission, somalibidders.com according to the US Department of Agriculture. The American Immigration Council estimates that more than one million undocumented immigrants work in hospitality, representing 7.1 percent of the workforce.

In-house counsel have a crucial function to play in establishing and ensuring consistent application of the Form I-9 and E-Verify policies the federal government utilizes to carry out and impose migration law, shares John W. Mazzeo, AGC, director of I-9 and E-Verify compliance for Vertical Screen, Inc., in a 2024 ACC Docket post.

Check out useful checklists of considerations pertinent for in-house attorneys on the subject of I-9 audits and worksite enforcement actions.

If an employer does not work together with a civil administrative warrant provided by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), there is a risk that the firm might begin an I-9 audit if they felt a company was blocking their requirement to detain a non-citizen staff member, or in many cases acquire a criminal warrant from a judge if actions support it.

Steps internal counsel should consider:

– Determine how lots of employees could possibly be impacted

– Review your company’s work eligibility confirmation process

– Ensure your company’s process is recorded and defensible

– Implement and impose clear policies

– Monitor legal developments, adremcareers.com including lawsuits and enforcement guidance

Mitigate threat, stay nimble, and seize new opportunities

The recent executive orders will substantially impact global services. Legal departments and in-house counsel will need to help their companies understand and adapt to modifications, ensuring compliance or litigating when appropriate.

A lot of the new administration’s decisions will play out over the coming months, including new executive orders and legal obstacles. The Docket will continue to keep an eye on advancements. Global in-house lawyers should get ready for fast developments associated with:

Trade and tariffs. On Feb. 1, President Trump ordered the imposition of a 25-percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10-percent additional tariffs on imports from China. The previous two were both postponed by a month as the administration takes part in negotiations. Meanwhile, China has begun its own vindictive procedures on US items. He had actually formerly announced his intent to enforce 25-percent intensifying tariffs on Colombia (an action that was eventually not taken).

Technology and copyright. One of the president’s first actions was to rescind the previous administration’s AI executive order. The new administration also extended a grace period for TikTok’s impending ban, sending waves throughout the technology sector, both in the United States and abroad.

Energy, climate, and health. The president also withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, putting an early emphasis on American energy independence and far from the previous administration’s global sustainability efforts.

Steps in-house counsel should consider:

– Assess the effect of possible tariff boosts on supply chain and service continuity.

– Assess the organization’s reliance on social networks platforms, such as for marketing functions, and the potential needs to backup social networks data and properties in the event their chosen platform ceases to be available.

– Consider how in the brand-new administration’s method to environmental, sustainability and governance issues may affect the organization’s ESG strategy.

Disclaimer: The details in any resource in this site ought to not be interpreted as legal advice or as a legal viewpoint on particular truths, and should not be thought about representing the views of its authors, its sponsors, and/or ACC. These resources are not planned as a conclusive statement on the subject dealt with. Rather, they are intended to serve as a tool supplying useful assistance and references for the busy internal professional and other readers.