All US federal employees involved in diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have been ordered to take immediate paid administrative leave by President Donald Trump, reports BBC.
Before the aforementioned offices and programs were closed, the White House stated that all federal DEI employees needed to be placed on leave by 17:00 EST (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Trump also demanded that the “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral” programs be discontinued in an executive order that was released on Tuesday, reports BBC.
The president has promptly fulfilled several important promises since resuming office by implementing a variety of unilateral measures. During the campaign, he frequently criticised DEI policies, claiming that they were discriminatory.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 800,000 federal employees, stated on Wednesday that it is unknown how many individuals are impacted by the directive, reports BBC.
The goal of DEI programs is to encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to participate in the workplace.
Critics claim that these programs can be discriminatory in and of themselves, while supporters claim they address historical under-representation and prejudice against specific groups, especially ethnic minorities, reports BBC.
Trump promised to “create a society that is merit-based and colour-blind” in his inaugural speech.
The chiefs of federal departments received a document from the US Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday telling them to put DEI personnel on leave, which CBS, the BBC’s US partner, first saw, reports BBC.
Among other things, it requested that DEI offices’ public webpages be taken down.
Federal agencies are required to create a list of DEI offices and employees by Thursday. Agencies are required to provide “a written plan” for carrying out layoffs in DEI offices by January 31, reports BBC.
In contrast, Trump’s executive order attacked the “illegal” DEI and DEIA (diversity, equality, inclusion, and accessibility) initiatives, claiming they violated US law.
It said that these practices might potentially “violate” significant underlying civil rights statutes that shield Americans from prejudice, reports BBC.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the action “is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds” and carries out a pledge made by Trump during the campaign.
“Reward individual initiative” rather than “DEI-related factors” is what the executive order mandates for government employment, promotions, and performance assessments, reports BBC.
It nullifies an executive order from 1965, issued by former President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Civil Rights period, that forbids discrimination in hiring by government contractors on the grounds of “race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.”
Additionally, the decision mandates that the attorney general provide advice “to encourage the private sector” to discontinue such diversity initiatives within 120 days, reports BBC.
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