Actions could include disbanding the Chief Diversity Officers (CDO) Council, and potentially reassigning or laying off employees whose work primarily involved DEI in hiring and other personnel actions. Image: epsilomo/Shutterstock.com
In addition to reinstating policies from his first term, incoming President Trump is expected to revoke Biden administration policies in areas including promoting DEI programs and supporting federal unions.
Late in his first term, Trump had moved against DEI programs then in existence by ordering training and similar programs suspended pending a review by OPM of their content. While those reviews never were completed, all indications have been that Trump will skip that step and go straight toward eliminating those efforts.
That could result for example in disbanding the Chief Diversity Officers Council the Biden administration created; potentially reassigning or laying off employees whose work primarily involved promoting diversity, equity and inclusiveness in hiring and other personnel actions; and eliminating questions related to DEI that the Biden administration added to the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
However, that likely would not affect the “A” in what sometimes is labeled DEIA, because accessibility requirements are governed by laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, requiring federal agencies to make certain accommodation to employees who meet certain definitions unless that would cause an undue hardship to the agency.
Also likely an early target for the new administration will be a series of orders and policy memos from Biden favorable to unions in the federal workplace. In addition to reversing prior Trump-issued policies regarding unions (see, Trump May again Seek to Strengthen Management’s Hand) those included: requiring agencies to re-establish labor-management cooperative forums that Trump had abolished in his first term; and telling agencies to highlight to current, prospective and incoming employees information about the existence of unions and labor rights in the federal workplace, including in job vacancy announcements and allowing unions to participate in new employee orientation sessions.
Other Biden initiatives subject to being revoked include ordering agencies to review the bargaining units and expand them to include any employees excluded improperly; stating that while agencies must be neutral regarding union representation elections, they may publicize the fact that one is occurring, encourage employees to participate, and correct any false or misleading statements; and reminding agencies that union dues deductions are to be made at no cost to either the union or the employee and that such requests should be processed “expeditiously.
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