"They can literally fire you for being an N-word"— Internet reacts as Trump rolls back executive order on workplace discrimination

On January 22, 2025, President Donald Trump revoked an executive order established nearly six decades ago to combat workplace discrimination. This was one of many actions he took in the two days following his inauguration as the 47th US President on January 20.

For the uninitiated, Executive Order 11246, aka the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, was first implemented by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. This act prohibited workplace discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors.

Trump's desire to revoke the order aligns with one of his major talking points during his presidential campaign: ending DEI programs in federal contracting.

Trump's decision to revoke the executive order on workplace discrimination was met with mixed responses from US citizens. Several people claimed the repeal seemingly targeted people from the black community. Under @theshaderoom's Instagram post on the decision, one person commented:

A comment about the president rolling back executive order on workplace discrimination (Image via @theshaderoom/Instagram)

Several commenters agreed with this sentiment, claiming that his recent orders were seemingly focused on affecting black people and other minorities.

Comments about the president rolling back executive order on workplace discrimination (Image via @theshaderoom/Instagram)

However, others supported the president's decision, claiming the repeal would allow companies to hire people based on merit instead of focusing on diversity in the workplace.

One user claimed people didn't understand what the executive order's repeal meant, while another added that people were jumping on the bandwagon to hate the president for no reason.

Comments about the executive order being rolled back (Image via @theshaderoom/Instagram)

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Donald Trump dubbed Executive Order 11246 as a "radical DEI"

Executive Order 11246 was passed one year after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ensure that women, people of color, and other minorities were afforded equal employment opportunities in the workplace.

On January 22, President Donald Trump revoked the executive order for workplace discrimination, calling the Equal Employment Opportunity Act "radical DEI." He also claimed DEI programs promoted "reverse discrimination." The order to revoke Executive Order 11246 reads:

“[DEI policies] undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive and pernicious identity-based spoils system."

The president added that The Labour Department would be prohibited from “pushing contractors to balance their workforce based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual preference, or religion" in a statement following his order to revoke the rule.

According to USA Today, the president also urged the private sector to stop "illegal" DEI policies to avoid facing investigations into their companies. While Trump's revoke of the executive order only applied to federal contracts and did not affect the private sector, many companies depended on federal funding. This may lead to more corporate companies rethinking their diverse hiring policies.

Companies like Amazon, McDonald's, and Meta had already changed their diversity initiatives days before Trump was sworn into office. According to the BBC, Meta, in an internal memo to staff over a week before the president's inauguration, claimed it was changing its DEI efforts to accommodate a "shifting legal and policy landscape."

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Trump's other executive orders include ending birthright citizenship and withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). It is unclear if and when these orders will take effect.