Topics: Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation, Employee Hiring, Discipline & Termination, Legal Information
On February 21, 2025, the federal district court for the District of Maryland blocked President Donald Trump from enforcing a majority of two January 2025 Executive Orders that seek to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives in government agencies, educational institutions, and the private sector. The first Executive Order was signed on January 20, 2025, and is entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.” (the “First Order”). See our prior article on the Second Order here. The second Executive Order was signed on January 21, 2025, and is entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” (the “Second Order”). (collectively “Executive Orders”).
The court held that the Executive Orders impermissibly target the expression of views supportive of equity, diversity and inclusion and violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution. The federal court noted that the Executive Orders are in fact antithetical to federal anti-discrimination law:
“[E]nsuring equity, diversity, and inclusion has long been a goal, and at least in some
contexts arguably a requirement, of federal anti-discrimination law. But the
administration has declared ‘DEI’ to be henceforth ‘illegal,’ has announced it will be
terminating all ‘equity-related’ grants...
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