Oh my gosh, it has finally dawned on this old white guy what is actually happening in our country. Apparently, President Donald Trump’s “DEI” initiative is code word for “it’s OK to racially discriminate against minorities who dare to live and work in this country” (“Google scraps its diversity hiring goals as it complies with Trump’s new government contractor rules,” Feb. 5).
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the agency responsible for enforcing equal employment laws among federal contractors, has been disbanded by Trump’s executive order. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was investigating many firms for workplace discrimination including Tesla’s Fremont, California manufacturing facility. Black employees “have routinely endured racial abuse, pervasive stereotyping, and hostility as well as epithets such as variations of the N-word,'” according to the EEOC.
Trump’s order repealed the 1965 executive order that created the OFCCP, deeming it an “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative. I’m honestly not sure which is worse — Trump’s executive order or the inability of Congress to actually pass legislation codifying the agency that protects American citizens from discrimination in the workplace.
— Andrew Green, Nottingham
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