Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity

This executive order amends existing federal anti-discrimination rules to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity alongside sexual orientation in federal employment and by federal contractors. It requires the Department of Labor to issue implementing regulations within 90 days.

Federal Register Open PDF 79 FR 42971

Impact dates

Date TBD
Section 2 applies to contracts entered into on or after effective date of promulgated Labor Department rules
Oct 19, 2014
Secretary of Labor must prepare regulations implementing section 2 (contractor provisions)

Key directives

Amend EO 11478 to add 'gender identity' to existing 'sexual orientation' prohibition in federal employment
Amend EO 11246 to add 'sexual orientation, gender identity' to prohibited discrimination bases for federal contractors
Secretary of Labor shall prepare regulations implementing section 2 within 90 days
Section 2 applies to contracts entered into on or after effective date of Labor Department rules

Who is ordered

Secretary of Labor · Department of Labor

Timeline

Immediate

EO takes effect immediately
sexual_orientation_and_gender_identity_protected_classes_added_to_EO_11478_federal_employment

Near term (90d)

Labor_Department_must_prepare_regulations_implementing_section_2_contractor_provisions

Long term

contractor_non_discrimination_rules_apply_to_new_contracts_after_regulations_effective

Risks & tensions

Regulatory preparation deadline is clear but actual effective date for contractors depends on subsequent rulemaking timeline, which is unspecified
No explicit enforcement mechanism or penalty structure detailed in EO text itself—relies on existing EO 11246 framework
Religious liberty tensions with contractor compliance requirements anticipated but not addressed in text
Section 4(b) disclaimer limits private enforceability of order provisions