A viral question circulating online asks: Did Trump revoke the Equal Employment Act? The short answer: No—but his administration has taken significant steps to weaken workplace protections, particularly for marginalized communities.
What is the Equal Employment Act?
The first thing to understand is that what’s commonly known as the “Equal Employment Act” isn’t one law but a collection of federal laws working together to prevent workplace discrimination across various protected categories.
These laws include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It strengthened the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) enforcement powers to combat workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women performing substantially similar work.
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which protects workers 40 and older from age discrimination.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities.
Many states also have their own equal opportunity legislation that may provide additional protections beyond federal law.
The core principle behind equal opportunity laws is that all individuals should have equal access to opportunities regardless of characteristics like race, gender, religion, disability status, and other protected categories, and that discrimination based on these factors is unlawful.
Can Trump revoke the Equal Employment Act?
No, because the president can’t unilaterally repeal laws passed by Congress, and all the laws above were passed by Congress. In order to do that, he would have to work with Congress to get those laws repealed. This would prove exceedingly difficult, because Republicans only hold a narrow majorities in both houses of Congress.
However, a president can weaken enforcement of workplace protections by defunding agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or issuing executive orders—though some of these actions may be legally challenged.
What has Trump done to weaken workers’ protection from discrimination?
Even though Trump cannot unilaterally repeal laws passed by Congress that are typically called the Equal Employment Act, he has taken several steps to weaken workers’ protections from discrimination.
Shortly after taking office, Trump rescinded a nearly 60-year-old executive order that prohibited businesses that have contracts with the federal government from discriminating in their hiring, firing, promotion or pay practices. He replaced it with another order requiring that employers certify they don’t have “illegal” DEI programs.
But, according to CNN, because so many businesses work with the federal government, nearly 25% of American workers could be affected by this order.
Nevertheless, American workers are still protected by the aforementioned laws—meaning workplace discrimination is still illegal.
Trump has also worked to reduce oversight of workplace discrimination by the EEOC, firing two commissioners early in his term. Human rights groups called the move illegal, and this will likely be challenged in court.
Why does Trump want to revoke the Equal Employment Act?
Trump is going after discrimination protections, especially Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, to distract people from the real problems caused by late-stage capitalism.
Instead of addressing issues like low wages, wealth inequality, and corporate greed, he’s blaming DEI for economic struggles.
This shifts public anger toward marginalized groups instead of the big businesses and billionaires who actually benefit from the system. By attacking DEI, Trump is making it harder to fight discrimination while keeping the wealthy and powerful in control.