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On February 21, 2025, a federal judge in the District Court of Maryland granted a temporary injunction blocking portions of President Trump’s Executive Orders “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit Based Opportunity” (“14173”) and “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs” (“14151”) (collectively the “EOs”). To learn more about each EO’s directives read Blank Rome’s previous coverage on <a href="/news-and-events/steps-employers-should-take-after-president-trump-revoked-executive-order-11246/" id="26073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">14173</a> here and <a href="https://governmentcontractsnavigator.com/2025/01/24/understanding-president-trumps-executive-orders-on-dei-implications-for-federal-contractors/">14151</a> here. This is a temporary nationwide ban on certain portions of the EOs.

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After pointing out that the Trump Administration has declared “DEI to be henceforth illegal”, the Court found the EOs do not “define any of the operative terms” such as “illegal DEI”, “equity-related”, “promoting DEI”, or “illegal discrimination or preferences”. This vagueness fails to provide companies and organizations with proper notice as to what types of programs are prohibited. Further, the Court found that the EOs likely violate the First Amendment by expressly threatening “the expression of views supportive of equity, diversity and inclusion.” This is a nationwide ban.

To read the full post, please visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://blankromeworkplace.com/2025/02/24/court-temporarily-hits-the-brakes-on-eo-14173-ending-illegal-discrimination-what-employers-should-know/">Blank Rome Workplace</a>&nbsp;blog.

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Court Temporarily Hits the Brakes on EO 14173 Ending Illegal Discrimination: What Employers Should Know

Court Temporarily Hits the Brakes on EO 14173 Ending Illegal Discrimination: What Employers Should Know

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Court Temporarily Hits the Brakes on EO 14173 Ending Illegal Discrimination: What Employers Should Know

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