Biden – Dickinson Law's Inside Entrepreneurship Law Blog

By: Kaitlyn Richards

My previous post found here explained how Former President Trump’s Presidential Executive Order 13950 Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“E.O. 13950”) prohibited the federal government, its contractors, subcontractors, and grantees, from offering certain racial and gender sensitivity training. On September 22, 2020, this order was issued and prompted widespread criticism and uncertainty from both businesses and civil rights groups. On his first day in office, President Biden revoked E.O. 13950.

E.O. 13950 revocation

The previous Executive Order 13950 stated that contractors shall not use any workplace training that “inculcates in its employees any form of race or sex-stereotyping or any form of race or sex scapegoating.” Any contracts that violated this order could have been canceled, terminated, or suspended, and contractors could have been deemed ineligible for future federal contracts.

It was widely expected that this order would be revoked by President Biden, which was confirmed on January 21, 2021. Before this revocation, a recent federal injunction had already halted the enforcement of particular provisions of the order that applied to federal contractors and subcontractors. The nationwide preliminary injunction was issued on December 22, 2020, and prohibited the federal government from implementing sections 4 and 5 of the Executive Order. However, now President Biden’s Order has formally revoked all parts of E.O. 13950.

new order: equity agenda

Biden’s recent order titled “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” (“the Order”) expresses a commitment to addressing disparities in the law and public policies, removing barriers to equal opportunity for all communities, especially those underserved, and a broad whole-of-government equity agenda. The term “underserved communities” was defined within the Order as “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the preceding definition of “equity.”

The Order broadly encourages the advancement of equity for all. To achieve this goal, the Order calls for many actions across the Federal government, including:

Identification and assessment of whether federal programs and policies create or exacerbate barriers that prevent underserved communities from accessing benefits and opportunities
A reallocation of budget priorities to promote equity among Federal programs and agencies
Establishing an Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data that will study and provide recommendations identifying inadequacies in existing programs and supporting agencies in implementing new actions.

While many groups have not yet had time to release statements on the Order, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has released a statement supporting the revocation of E.O. 13950. Janai Nelson, LDF’s Associate Director-Counsel, stated “We applaud the Biden-Harris administration’s swift revocation of this divisive and harmful Executive Order on its first day in office and are encouraged by its commitment to embedding equity in all aspects of federal government and removing barriers to equal opportunity for all communities… LDF will remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure racial justice and equity for Black communities across the nation and we look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to make this a reality.”

Where do we go from here?

The Order does not have an immediate, pressing impact on federal contractors and subcontractors. However, the Biden administration has clearly signaled that advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities will be a priority. Employers should expect additional programs to prevent discrimination and encourage diversity and equity during the future of this Biden administration.

For those limited number of contractors and grant recipients who had already signed federal contracts, after November 21, 2020, in compliance with E.O. 13950, you may wish to contact the government contracting officer who signed the contract or speak to a lawyer about the provisions.

Kaitlyn Richards, at the time of this post, is a third year law student at Penn State Dickinson Law. Originally from Wilson, North Carolina, Kaitlyn attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her undergraduate degrees. She is interested in employment law, corporate compliance, and education policy. Kaitlyn plans to move back to her home state after graduation to pursue a career in employment law with a focus on employee discrimination and disability rights.