Trump Administration Will No Longer Prohibit Contractors From Having 'Segregated Facilities,' Memo Says

The federal government will no longer explicitly prohibit contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains after the enaction a new directive last month.

In an overlooked public memo last month issued by the General Services Administration and reported by Axios, the federal government made changes prompted by President Donald Trump's executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion, which repealed an order by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 regarding federal contractors and nondiscrimination.

LBJ's 1965 order gave the Secretary of Labor the authority to ensure equal opportunity for people of color and women in federal contractors' recruitment, hiring, training and other employment practices. It also required federal contractors to refrain from employment discrimination and take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity "based on race, color, religion, and national origin."

The specific clause in question, called the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), said contractors can't "maintain or provide for its employees any segregated facilities." FAR defined segregated facilities as work areas, restaurants, drinking fountains, transportation, housing and others

But the memo stated that when issuing new solicitations or contracts, agencies could no longer include the clause about the "Prohibition of Segregated Facilities."

Federal agencies have already started adopting the changes. The Department of Homeland Security and the National Institutes of Health, for instance, have issued notices not to consider the segregation clause in the future.

Similarly, one federal worker who works on contracts told NPR they were "shocked" when they received notice about the FAR changes from their agency. They said that the process used to institute these changes, without a typical public notice or comment period of 45 to 90 days, is usually reserved for national emergencies.

"The way that they're implementing this in the contracting field is essentially subverting democracy— you're supposed to allow agencies to comment on this, contracting officers to comment on it, and think through the implications carefully," the worker said. "By doing this, they're essentially ramming things through hoping no one's going to notice."

The memo is primarily symbolic since there are still state and federal laws that outlaw segregation and discrimination that companies need to comply with. Nevertheless, legal experts argue that it is still significant.

"It's symbolic, but it's incredibly meaningful in its symbolism," Melissa Murray, a constitutional law professor at New York University, told the outlet. "These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government's efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s."

"The fact that they are now excluding those provisions from the requirements for federal contractors, I think, speaks volumes," she continued.

Businesses and contractors still can't segregate against members of protected classes, but it will be up to the federal government to investigate alleged violations. The immediate economic cost for contractors is now lifted and opens the door to potentially segregated transgender people or other people if contractors believe they won't face punishment, according to Axios.