Executive Order Prohibits Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination in Federal Government and Federal Contractor Employment | Practical Law

Executive Order Prohibits Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination in Federal Government and Federal Contractor Employment | Practical Law

President Obama issued Executive Order 13672 further amendingExecutive Orders 11478 and 11246 to uniformly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal government employment and federal contractor employment, respectively.

Executive Order Prohibits Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination in Federal Government and Federal Contractor Employment

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 22 Jul 2014 • USA (National/Federal)
President Obama issued Executive Order 13672 further amending Executive Orders 11478 and 11246 to uniformly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal government employment and federal contractor employment, respectively.
On July 21, 2014, President Obama issued Executive Order 13672 to uniformly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal government employment and federal contractor employment (Exec. Order No. 13672, 79 Fed. Reg. 42971 (July 21, 2014)).
Executive Order 13672 further amends Executive Orders 11478 and 11246, which cover federal government employment and federal contractor employment, respectively (Exec. Order No. 11478, 34 Fed. Reg. 12985 (Aug. 8, 1969) as amended by Exec. Order No. 13,087, 63 Fed. Reg. 30097 (May 28, 1998) and Exec. Order No. 13,152, 65 Fed. Reg. 26115 (May 2, 2000); and Exec. Order No. 11246, 30 Fed. Reg. 12319 (Sep. 24, 1965) as amended by Exec. Order No. 11375, 32 Fed. Reg. 14303 (Oct. 13, 1967), Exec. Order No. 11478, 34 Fed. Reg. 12985 (Aug. 8, 1969), Exec. Order No. 12086, 43 Fed. Reg. 46501 (Oct. 5, 1978), Exec. Order No. 12107, 44 Fed. Reg. 1055 (Dec. 28, 1978), Exec. Order No. 13279, 67 Fed. Reg. 77141 (Dec. 16, 2002) and Exec. Order No. 13665, 79 Fed. Reg. 20749, (Apr. 8, 2014)).
This Executive Order amends:
  • Executive Order 11478 by substituting "sexual orientation, gender identity" for "sexual orientation" in the first sentence of Section 1 (to add gender identity as a protected classification) .
  • Executive Order 11246 by substituting "sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin" for "sex, or national origin" in:
    • the first sentence of paragraph (1) of Section 202 (prohibiting employment discrimination based on the identified protected classifications);
    • the second sentence of paragraph (1) of Section 202 (requiring contractors take affirmative actions to ensure that applicants and employees are treated without regard the identified classifications);
    • paragraph (2) of Section 202 (requiring contractors' job postings to note that qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to the identified classifications); and
    • paragraph (d) of Section 203 (authorizing the Secretary of Labor to require bidders, contractors and subcontractors to submit compliance reports affirming that their policies and practices do not and will not discriminate against applicants and employees based on the identified classifications).
This Executive Order:
  • Directs the Secretary of Labor to propose regulations (DOL regulations) to implement its requirements within 90 days.
  • Becomes effective immediately.
  • Specifies that the amendments to Executive Order 11246 will apply to federal contracts entered into on or after the effective date of the DOL regulations.
The White House Press Secretary issued a fact sheet, which, in part:
  • Outlines the President's intentions when issuing the Executive Order.
  • Explains how the Executive Order is intended to operate with other executive orders.