On February 6, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management issued a new guidance memorandum, clarifying the scope of a recent executive order targeting federal agencies’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. OPM clarified that normal federal agency EEO offices and reasonable accommodation programs do not fall within the scope of DEI programs which the executive order had sought to shut down.
Under the executive order and under earlier OPM guidance memoranda, federal agencies were directed to take steps to shut down their DEI programs and prepare to implement a Reduction in Force (RIF) procedures for affected staff. As discussed previously in this blog, and as had been reported in the press and elsewhere, some agencies had apparently placed EEO office staff and reasonable accommodation program staff (including, for example, ASL sign language interpreters for federal employees with hearing impairments) onto administration leave in apparent preparation for RIF, in some cases apparently resulting in discontinuance of provision of reasonable accommodations to employees.
The updated guidance memorandum now clarifies that agencies’ EEO office staff handling standard EEO complaint processing, and staff processing reasonable accommodation requests or providing reasonable accommodations, are not supposed to be subject to RIF as part of this effort.
The memorandum also clarified that while agencies are supposed to prohibit Employee Resource Groups which allegedly advance certain policy agendas, agencies remain free to conduct affinity group lunches, mentorship programs and other social and cultural events—so long as the events are consistent with current Administration executive orders and so long as the events are open to all employees and not restricted or segregated by any protected characteristic. Agencies were also directed to not restrict the formation of Employee Resource Groups to certain protected category groups but not others. Agencies were directed to discontinue any Special Emphasis Programs on hiring, training or professional development that might be focus on specific protected category groups.
If you are a federal employee and wish to discuss your rights under these new policies, consider contacting GEL to request an initial consultation.