BALTIMORE, Md. — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to block President Donald Trump’s March executive order aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion work by companies that do business with the federal government, according to Reuters.
U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson denied a request to halt the order while a lawsuit against it goes ahead. The suit, filed in April, was brought by groups representing university faculty and minority business owners.
The order bars what it calls “racially discriminatory DEI activities” by federal contractors and makes them certify compliance in writing. A company that does not comply could lose its contracts. It could also face investigation under the federal False Claims Act.
The plaintiffs argue the order treats all DEI as illegal racial discrimination and reaches speech protected by the Constitution. Abelson read the order more narrowly. The conduct it bars, he wrote, is intentional discrimination based on race or ethnicity.
“The Contractors Order only prohibits contractors from engaging in conduct that is already prohibited by federal law: intentional discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity,”
Democracy Forward, the legal group representing the plaintiffs, said the ruling should reassure contractors. In its reading, the court made clear the order does not broadly bar diversity programs, and reaches no further than the work done under the specific contract where the language appears.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
The order faces a second challenge in the same Baltimore court. Nineteen Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., have sued to stop federal agencies from changing contracts to comply with it.
Federal contracting reaches deep into the economy. Many of the country’s largest defense, technology, food service and logistics companies hold government contracts, and some depend on that work.
Civil rights advocates say DEI practices help address historic inequities. Trump and many conservatives describe DEI as discriminatory and anti-merit, and the administration has moved to remove it from government, higher education and the private sector. The lawsuit itself is not over. Wednesday’s ruling only decides whether the order stays in place while the case is heard.
