The Executive Order 11246 Grace Period Ends April 21

Covington – On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," which, among other things, revoked Executive Order 11246, a 60-year-old Civil Rights-era directive that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin and required federal contractors to take affirmative action to provide equal opportunity in employment. Section 3(b)(i) of EO 14173 permitted federal contractors to continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in effect on January 20, 2025 (i.e., EO 11246) for 90 days.