On March 26, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) focused on the elimination of racially discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) practices by federal contractors and their subcontractors, ensuring merit-based and efficient contracting and employment.  This Executive Order focuses specifically on race discrimination within DEI, aligning with the administration’s broader emphasis on nondiscrimination policies related to White individuals.

On December 18, 2025, EEOC Chairperson Andrea Lucas did a call for White males to file charges if they believe they are being discriminated against.  Lucas posted on X: 

“Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws. Contact the @USEEOC as soon as possible.”  

On February 4, 2026, the EEOC began to investigate Nike on what the agency said was suspicion of discrimination against White workers. Specifically, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Nike to produce information related to allegations that the company discriminated against White workers as a result of NIKE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-related 2025 Targets and other DEI-related objectives.

It was found that while White men were 46% of the labor force, they filed 11% of sexual harassment charges and 11% of all other charges, most commonly tied to disability and age.  It also found that the general pattern is that, while White men already file discrimination charges, they are less likely to experience employment discrimination than other groups.

 The new EO continues the push for White rights.  The EO directs the following:

• The EO requires that all federal contracts that are subject to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act include a clause prohibiting contractors and their subcontractors from engaging in racially discriminatory DEI activities.
• The EO directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to contracting agencies to ensure compliance and identify economic sectors that pose a particular risk of engaging in racially discriminatory DEI activities.
• The EO authorizes contracting agencies to cancel, terminate, or suspend contracts — and to suspend or debar contractors — for failure to comply.
• The EO directs the Attorney General to prioritize potential claims under the False Claims Act against contractors or subcontractors that are in violation of the contractual terms prohibiting racially discriminatory DEI activities and ensure the prompt review of related civil actions brought by private persons.
• The EO directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend Federal Acquisition Regulations to include this clause and remove any conflicting provisions.

The EO is continuing a push against what is called illegal DEI, which is defined as “disparate treatment based on race or ethnicity in the recruitment, employment (e.g., hiring, promotions), contracting (e.g., vendor agreements), program participation, or allocation or deployment of an entity’s resources.”  In addition, “program participation” is defined as “membership or participation in, or access or admission to training, mentoring, or leadership development programs; educational opportunities; clubs; associations; or similar opportunities that are sponsored or established by the contractor or subcontractor.”  It is now becoming very broad and could impact involvement with the Black MBA Society, Society of Hispanic Engineers, and more.

The contract clause against DEI is to be implemented by contractors by April 25, 2026.

What should contractors do?  As David Cohen, President and CEO of DCI Consulting, the leading federal contractor compliance consultancy, stated the following upon release of the EO: 

“While the FAR Council and other federal agencies have yet to release specific requirements or enforcement methodologies, the contractor community can now be sure of three things:

• Certification without data-driven analysis will no longer be viable;
• Documentation and defensibility will be essential; and
• Conducing proactive EEO analytics to identify a pattern or practice of disparate treatment or proxy discrimination will become standard practice.”

In other words, compliance is even more important today than in the past.  Contractors could be barred from contracting.  Therefore, contractors should review, audit and prepare to defend their employment practices, regardless of whether there are DEI or just diversity practices within the organization.  It is broader than employment practices but includes a wide swath of programs that could be impacted, from affinity groups to outreach, even if no employment activity is taking place. 

With the False Claims Act (FCA), it is still a question of what type of damages would be awarded but note that the FCA cases are like winning the lottery for successful claimants. In the U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 decision in the FCA case Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, the court cited precedent establishing that a material misrepresentation is one that goes to the "very essence of the bargain."   What that means in a DEI prosecution is unclear as DEI is the very essence of the bargain.

Source: Seyfarth Shaw 3/27/26, DCI 3/27/26, The Conversation 2/16/26, EEOC 2/4/26