EO 11246 grace period ends; § 3(b)(iv) certification enjoined by N.D. Ill.

On 21 April 2025 the 90-day contractor safe-harbour for compliance with the regulatory scheme in effect on 20 January 2025 — set by Executive Order 14173 § 3(b)(i), which provides “For 90 days from the date of this order, Federal contractors may continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in effect on January 20, 2025” — expired without modification.¹ OFCCP enforcement of Executive Order 11246 had already ceased on 24 January 2025 under Secretary’s Order 03-2025, issued by Acting Secretary of Labor Vincent N. Micone III, which placed OFCCP’s Section 503 and VEVRAA work in abeyance “pending further guidance”; and the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council issued a class deviation (CAAC Letter 2025-01 of 15 February 2025 and Supplement 1 of 18 February 2025) removing FAR clauses 52.222-21 through 52.222-27 and 52.222-29 from agency contracts.²³ On 14 April 2025 Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a preliminary injunction in Chicago Women in Trades v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-02005, barring the Department of Labor from enforcing the False Claims Act certification requirement at § 3(b)(iv) of EO 14173 nationwide on First Amendment grounds.⁴

1. Federal contractors with active EO 11246 affirmative-action plans under 41 C.F.R. § 60-1.40 and Part 60-2 may discontinue those plans on or after the safe-harbour expiration. EEO-1 Component 1 reporting to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under 29 C.F.R. § 1602.7 remains required for employers with 100 or more employees regardless of EO 11246’s status.⁵⁶

2. Statutory affirmative-action obligations for individuals with disabilities under § 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 793, and for protected veterans under VEVRAA, 38 U.S.C. § 4212, remain in force; OFCCP enforcement activity under both statutes is in abeyance under Secretary’s Order 03-2025 pending further DOL guidance.⁷⁸

3. EO 14173 § 3(b)(iv) directs federal agencies to include in every contract or grant a term making compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws “material” to government payment decisions under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, and a representation that the counterparty does not operate DEI programmes violating those laws. The certification provision is enjoined nationwide as against the Department of Labor by the Chicago Women in Trades preliminary injunction.¹⁴