A coalition of former senior U.S. Department of Labor officials has called on federal contractors to maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, despite increasing legal pressure from the Trump administration.
In an open letter to companies holding federal contracts, ten former officials—whose service spanned the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations—argued that the Trump administration lacks the legal authority to prohibit equal opportunity initiatives in the private sector. They contend that while the federal government may dismantle its own DEI and accessibility programmes, it cannot lawfully prevent private employers from pursuing inclusive employment strategies.
The Trump administration has issued a series of executive orders aimed at curtailing DEI programmes within federal agencies and among contractors, while encouraging private companies to follow suit. Critics of DEI claim such efforts unfairly benefit certain groups, while supporters argue they are essential in addressing systemic inequalities and ensuring equitable access to opportunities for women, ethnic minorities, and other under-represented groups.
The letter points to recent rollbacks of DEI initiatives at major government contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Nonetheless, the authors—who include former leaders from the Department of Labor and its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)—maintain that these efforts are both lawful and beneficial.
“Although the federal government has chosen to dismantle diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programmes in its own workplaces at its own peril, the government cannot prohibit private employers from engaging in fully lawful strategies to advance equal opportunity for all,” the letter states.
Concerns have grown since the appointment of Catherine Eschbach as the new OFCCP Director, whose attempts to investigate allegedly “illegal” DEI initiatives have sown uncertainty among businesses. The signatories said the climate of “chaos and confusion” had prompted their intervention to reassure company boards of the legal standing of their DEI commitments.
Pamela Coukos, a former OFCCP Senior Advisor and co-founder of the consultancy Working IDEAL, noted that many companies are increasingly unsure of how to navigate the changing regulatory landscape. “Folks are concerned about what they should be doing, whether they need to back away from this work,” she said.
A White House spokesperson defended the administration’s position, stating that companies heavily reliant on federal funds could be excluded from future contracts if they adhered to what it termed “discriminatory DEI policies.” The statement asserted that voters had rejected such “radical, wasteful priorities.”
However, the former officials warned that executive actions cannot override Congressional legislation and that any effort to penalise companies for following established rules could raise constitutional issues. They argued that DEI frameworks have helped companies foster inclusive workplaces while mitigating legal risks.
“They are attempting to turn bedrock civil rights laws on their head and use them to intimidate employers from maintaining not just lawful policies but policies that have really helped them run their business in a positive way,” said Seema Nanda, Solicitor of Labor under President Biden and one of the letter’s signatories.
The letter underscores a growing divide between federal directives and the private sector’s longstanding approach to workplace inclusion, with broader implications for corporate governance and civil rights compliance.
