Executive order on race hits contractors

Bans ‘divisive concepts’

      President Trump issued an Executive Order on Sept. 22 that prohibits federal contractors from "promoting" various "divisive concepts" regarding race and sex in any training they provide to federal employees, the military, their own employees and subcontractors.

      The order defines "divisive concepts" as "race or sex stereotyping" or "race or sex scapegoating."

      Penalties include cancellation or suspension of federal contracts.

      Examples of disallowed content cited in the executive order include:

• A Treasury Dept. seminar in which leaders allegedly told employees that being "color-blind" should not be encouraged;
• Training materials from Argonne National Laboratories allegedly stated that racism "is interwoven into every fabric of America"; and
• Training materials for non-minority males at Sandia National Laboratories allegedly "asked those present to 'acknowledge' their 'privilege' to each other."

      The order expands upon and formalizes President Trump’s recent instructions to cancel anti-racism trainings for federal employees that convey what he considers to be objectionable ideas.

      The recent instructions were communicated in a Sept. 4 memo by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought (See Sept. 18, 2020 issue of Set-Aside Alert). Vought wrote that the president directed him to cancel any anti-racism training contracts for federal employees that contain "unAmerican" concepts and "propaganda," including any references to "white privilege" and "critical race theory."

      Critics of the OMB memo said it does not accurately represent the trainings, which they say are effective in improving teamwork among diverse staffs. The critics said the OMB memo was based on conservative media presenting a distorted view of the trainings.

      The new Executive Order expands the scope of the original ban to include trainings for the military and apparently also for contractor training to their own employees and to subcontractors.

      It states that it applies not just to formal trainings but also to communications and actions taken by agencies or by contractors and grant recipients that "promote" the alleged "divisive" concepts.

      The order states that within 30 days, the administration will issue a Request for Information from contractors to provide copies of any federal training materials they provide relating to "diversity" and "inclusion."

More information:
White House Executive Order: https://bit.ly/30guaF2

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