The Equal Employment Opportunity Act Is Still the Law of the Land

Inside the Beltway, people hang on every word that comes out of Capitol Hill or the White House.  Here in California, on the complete opposite side of the country, we have bigger things to think about.  In the evening, when all the restaurants in D.C. have closed except the ones that cater to the after work happy hour crowd, it is still broad daylight in California, and hours from now, we might decide to meet up with friends for outdoor dining under the year-round sun.  Yes, we have plenty of climate crises and financial stress.  Yes, there are plenty of news headlines about the politicians who have made Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) the bogeyman of the week, and there is no telling which protections American workers will lose over the next four years.  But that executive order about DEI in the workplace?  It is just an executive order.  The basics of employment discrimination law have not changed.  For help understanding your rights in the face of employment discrimination, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.

There Have Been More Executive Orders About Employment Discrimination Than You Think

Presidential executive orders are directives drafted by presidents, whereas laws must pass votes in both houses of Congress.  Executive orders are limited to the powers granted to the president by the Constitution or federal law. Every president in recent history has issued numerous executive orders during his first weeks in office, and most presidents in our lifetime have issued executive orders related to employment discrimination.  While executive orders have the force of law in theory, they cannot be enforceable if they conflict with laws passed by Congress or with the U.S. Constitution.  Plenty of forceful sounding executive orders have fizzled for this reason.

This month, President Trump signed an executive order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”  It rescinds several other executive orders issued by former presidents, the earliest of whom is Lyndon B. Johnson.  These are some of the earlier executive orders it revokes:

• Johnson’s 1965 executive order enjoining affirmative action in the hiring of federal workers and federal contractors
• Clinton’s 1994 executive order directing federal agencies to consider the impact of their decisions on the environment and on human health risks in areas with low-income or minority populations
• Obama’s 2011 executive order instructing federal agencies to write a diversity plan and revise it every four years

Contrary to what you may have heard on the news, Trump’s executive order does not rescind the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, because it cannot.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Act is a federal law passed by Congress, and the only thing that can change it is if Congress passes another law amending it or revoking it.  Employment discrimination is still against the law.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can help you if your employer is playing on employees’ anxiety and confusion about politicians’ efforts to remove worker protections.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-equal-employment-opportunity-act-b2686613.html