2025 United States Executive Orders, DEI, and Employment: how In-house Lawyers can help the Business

Remind me, what’s an executive order?

Executive orders are directives bought by the president of the United States that direct federal government firms and officials to take specific actions. While they are not laws, they have the force of law and effect how existing laws are carried out or implemented.

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

Executive orders might be rescinded, reversed by future presidents, or challenged in court, and enforcement priorities can change during any administration.

The new administration’s actions have significant effects beyond executive orders. For more on mitigating danger, international companies can take new opportunities by staying active.

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

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

EO 11246 required every government agreement to include a declaration that the specialist will not discriminate against any staff member or applicant for work based on race, creed, color, or nationwide origin.

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

However, the executive order signals that there might be changing enforcement top priorities in the brand-new administration. The order directs all federal companies to „combat prohibited private-sector DEI choices, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.“

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

In addition to revoking EO 11246, the Jan. 21 executive order advises each agency of the federal government to determine „approximately 9 potential civic compliance investigations“ of economic sector entities within 120 days of the order – by May 21, 2025.

The private sector job entities subject to these examinations consist of openly traded corporations, large nonprofits – consisting of bar associations – large structures, and universities whose endowments surpass US$ 1 billion.

Organizations that may be targeted should ask:

– What is my organization’s risk tolerance?

– How will employees react to the business’s actions?

– How will consumers and stakeholders react?

What in-house counsel needs to think of:

Assess any federal contracts and grants

– Determine if they contain any terms or conditions connected to DEI that might contrast with present laws and regulations

Review your company’s existing DEI policies to comprehend your threat

– Get ready for increased scrutiny and prospective civil compliance examinations

Document, file, document

– Hiring and recruitment processes

– Performance evaluations and promo decisions

– Training materials and presence records

– Any changes to DEI policies

Implications for federal specialists

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

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

– „A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to accredit that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that break any appropriate Federal anti-discrimination laws.“

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

The certification requirement brings a possible risk of litigation for federal professionals under the False Claims Act. In-house legal representatives at federal specialists hence have a specific interest in ensuring their company’s policies, treatments, practices, communications and material, are reviewed. Assess if adjustments are needed to reduce the danger of lawsuits.

Executive orders targeting prohibited migration

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

In-house attorneys must think about examining their company’s employment eligibility verification procedure. They may likewise wish to think about whether the organization is prepared for reacting to an I-9 audit or a worksite enforcement action (or raid) by immigration enforcement firms.

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

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

Check out useful checklists of considerations appropriate for in-house legal representatives on the topic of I-9 audits and worksite enforcement actions.

If an employer does not comply with a civil administrative warrant presented 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 obstructing their requirement to apprehend a non-citizen worker, or in some cases acquire a criminal warrant from a judge if actions support it.

Steps internal counsel must consider:

– Determine the number of workers might potentially be impacted

– Review your organization’s work eligibility verification process

– Ensure your company’s procedure is documented and defensible

– Implement and impose clear policies

– Monitor job legal developments, including lawsuits and enforcement guidance

Mitigate danger, remain active, and seize new opportunities

The current executive orders will substantially impact worldwide services. Legal departments and in-house counsel will need to assist their organizations understand and adapt to modifications, making sure compliance or litigating when appropriate.

Much of the brand-new administration’s choices will play out over the coming months, consisting of new executive orders and legal difficulties. The Docket will continue to keep an eye on advancements. Global internal lawyers ought to get ready for fast developments connected to:

Trade and tariffs. On Feb. 1, President Trump purchased the imposition of a 25-percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10-percent additional tariffs on imports from China. The former 2 were both delayed by a month as the administration participates in settlements. Meanwhile, China has started its own retaliatory measures on US products. He had previously revealed his intent to enforce 25-percent escalating tariffs on Colombia (an action that was ultimately not taken).

Technology and copyright. Among the president’s first actions was to rescind the previous administration’s AI executive order. The new administration also extended a grace duration for TikTok’s impending restriction, sending out waves throughout the innovation sector, both in the United States and abroad.

Energy, job climate, and health. The president likewise withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, putting an early focus on American energy self-reliance and away from the previous administration’s international sustainability efforts.

Steps internal counsel ought to consider:

– Assess the effect of possible tariff boosts on supply chain and company connection.

– Assess the company’s dependency on social networks platforms, such as for marketing purposes, and the possible requirements to backup social networks information and possessions in the occasion their preferred platform ceases to be offered.

– Consider how developments in the brand-new administration’s technique to ecological, sustainability and governance problems might affect the organization’s ESG method.

Disclaimer: The information in any resource in this site must not be construed as legal guidance or as a legal viewpoint on specific facts, and need to not be considered representing the views of its authors, its sponsors, and/or ACC. These resources are not planned as a definitive statement on the subject addressed. Rather, they are intended to function as a tool supplying useful guidance and referrals for the hectic internal specialist and other readers.