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Trump revoked an antidiscrimination hiring rule. Here’s what it means.

As part of his directives targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI), President Donald Trump revoked a landmark executive order signed by Lyndon B. Johnson to prevent discrimination in government employment and advance racial equality.

Union leaders and labor advocates have decried the move, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s three Democratic members saying in a joint statement that rescinding the 1965 order will remove “a source of protection against discrimination for the millions of Americans working for companies that receive federal dollars.”

“We should be standing up for working Americans, not weakening their civil rights,” the members said, noting that the principles of Johnson’s Executive Order 11246 “have stood the test of time and remained in place through both Democratic and Republican administrations.”

Here’s what to know about Executive Order 11246 and Trump’s reversal:

What is the Equal Employment Opportunity order Trump reversed?

Executive Order 11246 directed federal contractors to take “affirmative action” to end discrimination at their firms and gave the Labor Department enforcement authority over violations found by the EEOC. It was one in a series of laws and executive orders that codified the employment protections that have existed for the American workforce for decades.

The policy was considered a major step in the federal government’s effort to foster racial equality, coming one year after Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which created the EEOC, tasked with eliminating unlawful employment discrimination in the private and public sectors. It eventually led to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which expanded the reach and authority of the EEOC. Subsequent laws and executive orders built upon these policies, extending employment protections to not just race, sex, color, religion and national origin, but also sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and status as a protected veteran.

Why did Trump revoke it?

Conservatives have long railed against DEI programs, saying that diversity measures taken in workplaces, schools and other institutions were, in fact, discriminatory. In his executive order, Trump said such policies “violate the text and spirit of our long-standing Federal civil-rights laws” and diminish “the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination.” He said that they “undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement.”

“Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex,” the executive order reads.

The revocation of Executive Order 11246 goes into effect on April 20, 90 days after Trump signed the order.

What does Trump’s order mean for the American workforce?

Executive Order 11246 applies only to federal contractors, but companies that do business with the U.S. government make up a considerable part of the American workforce. The policy for decades has ensured that some of the country’s largest companies implement robust affirmative action plans to hire women and people of color.

The policy has led to a more diverse workforce over the past 40 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and provided protections for workers from discriminatory practices. In 1989, women employed by the Harris Bank of Chicago who said they received lower pay than their male coworkers and were given fewer opportunities to advance recouped $14 million in back pay in 1989 because of the executive order.

It’s unclear how the Trump administration plans to enforce his directives, particularly around Executive Order 11246. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs defines its affirmative action obligations as “the obligation on the part of the contractor to take action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.”

Trump and other conservatives have often spoken about affirmative action “quotas,” in which employers are forced to make a certain amount diversity-based hires to fulfill their DEI requirements, but the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs does not permit “quotas, preferences, or set asides.” Contractors with at least 50 employees must develop and maintain written affirmative action programs, but diversity goals are not meant to serve as a ceiling, but rather, “a benchmark against which the contractor measures the representation of persons within its workforce.”

In the context of all of Trump’s directives, however, the revocation of EO 11246 could have a significant impact on federal contractors and subcontractors. Trump also revoked Executive Order 13672. Signed by President Barack Obama in 2014, the order prohibits contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

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