A federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump's anti-DEI executive orders

CHICAGO — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing parts of President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at curbing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts among federal contractors and grant recipients.

Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois halted the Labor Department from requiring federal contractors or grant recipients from certifying that they don't operate any programs in violation of Trump's anti-DEI executive orders.

That certification provision has stepped up pressure on companies and other organizations to revisit their DEI practices because if the government were to determine they violated the provision, they would be subject to crippling financial penalties under the False Claims Act.

Thursday's ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed last month by Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit founded in 1981 that helps prepare women for work in skilled construction trades and has several grants from with the Department of Labor. The organization argued that the president’s executive orders on DEI are so broad and vague that the organization had no way to ensure compliance, and thus they threaten its core mission.

The judge also blocked the Labor Department from freezing or canceling any funding with Chicago Women in Trades, and the Trump administration from pursuing any False Claims Act enforcement against them.

“This is a critical step in ensuring that the organization can continue the important work it leads — helping women put food on the table through careers in the skilled trades and making job sites safer for thousands of women over the last four decades,” Sabrina Talukder, a senior counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is representing the organization, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice on Friday declined to comment on the temporary restraining order beyond the court filings. A hearing on Chicago Women in Trades' bid for a longer-lasting halt on Trump's anti-DEI executive orders is scheduled for April 10.

The organization's lawsuit is one of several challenging Trump's executive orders targeting DEI programs in both the private and public sectors.

Trump signed an order his first day in office directing federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts. He signed a follow-up order that included a requirement that federal contractors and grantees certify that they don't “operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”

Kennelly’s decision comes nearly two weeks after an appeals court lifted a broader nationwide injunction against Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders in a separate lawsuit in Baltimore. But Thursday’s ruling is limited in scope because Kennelly declined to extend the temporary restraining order to other federal agencies.

Kennelly wrote that Chicago Women in Trades was likely to succeed in its arguments that parts of the executive orders are a violation of free speech rights and are unconstitutionally vague.

Although the government argued that the certification provision “implicates only illegal DEI programs, it has studiously declined to shed any light on what this means. The answer is anything but obvious,” Kennelly wrote.

Kennelly wrote that he extended his order to all Labor Department contractors and grant recipients because the vagueness of Trump's executive orders, coupled with the threat of financial penalties, would likely pressure organizations to curb DEI programs in potential violation of free speech rights.

Rather than face potentially crippling penalties, “it is likely that many of these grantees will take the safer route and choose to simply stop speaking on anything remotely related to what the government might consider to promote DEI or equity. A nationwide restraining order is appropriate to protect grantees who cannot afford the risks inherent in biting the hand that feeds them," Kennelly wrote.

During a hearing on Tuesday, the Trump administration argued that Chicago Women in Trades' motion for relief was premature because it was based on speculation as to how the executive orders will be implemented.

But Kennelly wrote that said the concern that grant recipients “may be targeted by the Certification Provision is anything but speculative.” He noted that 60 organizations, including Chicago Women in Trades, received an email on March 20 from the Department of Labor instructing them to "immediately cease all activities related to DEI" consistent with the executive orders.

Kennelly also noted Chicago Women in Trades lost a subcontract with a DOL contractor trying to comply with the executive order.

Chicago Women in Trades has a long history of partnering with companies, state and federal agencies and other industry stakeholders trying to recruit more women into skilled trades. Its grant work with the federal government dates back years, including two grants awarded under the first Trump administration under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations initiative, which aims to expand pathways for women seeking to enter skilled trades.

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