I promise this post is not political … but we do have to talk about Project 2025.
Regardless of where you fall in this philosophical political debate, Project 2025 contains a lot of information of interest to employers — specifically, what changes they could expect to labor and employment laws in a second Trump administration.
This week, I’ll examine the employment law and labor law implication of Project 2025, starting today with workplace discrimination laws. (Later this week we’ll also look at wage and hour laws and labor laws.)
Project 2025 proposes 7 key changes to workplace discrimination laws.
1. General Civil Rights Protections: Project 2025 would cut various civil rights protections, including those related to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
2. LGBTQ+ Rights: It would roll back protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, including eliminating terms like “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” from federal anti-discrimination laws, except for hiring and firing decisions.
4. Religious Exemptions: It would implement broad religious exemptions that would allow employers with conservative and religious viewpoints to bypass general nondiscrimination laws. If applied broadly, these exceptions would allow these employers to discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics under the guise of religious beliefs.
5. Data Collection: It would ban the collection of racial and other demographic data via the EEO-1 form.
6. Disparate Impact: It would make disparate impact discrimination legal, limiting the scope of our workplace discrimination laws to intentional discrimination only.
7. Affirmative Action: It would eliminate the OFCCP and end affirmative action for federal contractors and subcontractors.
It is vital to understand Project 2025 so that you make an informed decision when you vote this November. Do your research and decide if its vision of America is one you support and would want to live under. Then vote accordingly.
