On June 18, officials at the White House announced that, soon, President Obama will be issuing yet another Executive Order, this time prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. Although, as of today, details of the text of the order have not been released, the Department of Labor will likely be gearing up, if they haven’t already, to put together proposed regulations based on the order. We will provide you with further guidance on the order once it is published and any accompanying regulations.                    

In the meantime, if you are a federal contractor subject to E.O. 11246, we suggest you proactively review your EEO/AA policies and affirmation of discrimination language in your company affirmative action plan narratives to determine whether gender identity and sexual orientation are included.

Stay tuned…