Among his first flurry of executive orders signed after taking office, President Joe Biden reversed a Trump administration order that limited the type of diversity and inclusion training federal agencies and contractors could conduct. The Trump order issued in September prohibited training that characterized members of any race or gender as having conscious or unconscious biases, or that acknowledged the existence of systemic racism in the U.S. Subsequent to issuance of Biden's order, the U.S. Department of Labor shut down its telephone and email tip lines that received complaints about training that did not meet the requirements under Trump's order.
Civil rights and business organizations criticized the order for its lack of specificity and impact on free speech rights. Prior to its removal, a federal district court had enjoined enforcement of the order on these grounds. President Biden’s order likely makes these lawsuits moot and returns to federal contractors the ability to design diversity, inclusion, and sensitivity training that suits their individual needs.
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