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Trump signs several workplace-related executive orders on the first day of his second term
by Kristen Parisi - 01/23/2025
 
"The new president ordered a hiring freeze, as well as the end of remote work, and DEIA programs."
 
Donald Trump wasted no time issuing executive orders when he was sworn into office on Jan. 20. Several of those wide-ranging orders will impact federal workers and contractors, and by extension their HR pros, including those who work remotely or are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Hiring. Trump froze all non-military hiring for the federal government, with few exceptions, to be granted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The executive order directs the OPM to work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to create a plan ?to reduce the size of the federal government?s workforce? within 90 days that focuses on efficiency and attrition to reduce headcount.

Remote work. All federal agencies have been ordered to terminate remote work and institute a five-day RTO ?as soon as practicable,? though the order notes ?agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.?

DOGE. Trump established and charged DOGE with reducing and fixing government inefficiencies, according to the executive order. Each government agency has been directed to bring on at least four DOGE employees, including at least one HR specialist. However, three lawsuits have already been filed against the agency, including one that alleges it violates a 1972 law requiring ?balanced perspectives,? Business Insider reported.

?Merit? hiring. One directive focuses on federal hiring processes moving forward, and claims that the current hiring processes are illegal and not based on merit. To fix this, the DOGE has been ordered to develop a new federal hiring plan that focuses on efficiency, removes any supposed identity-based hiring, and relies on new technical assessments. The plan is also supposed to streamline the hiring process to fewer than 80 days and create more specific HR practices across federal agencies.

Firing. Schedule F was reinstated, making it easier to fire career civil servants. All agencies were ordered to review their materials to ensure they are no longer compliant with the now-rescinded executive order signed by former President Joe Biden that protected such federal workers. The directive allows Schedule F employees to be fired like any political appointee, but a federal employee union quickly sued the administration, saying that the government must hire for merit, not politics. The union argued that federal employees have the right to due process before their firing, the Hill reported.

DE&I. Trump ordered agencies to end all government DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) initiatives. All DE&I programs, offices of equity, equity plans, and training must end within 60 days of the directive. The office of management and budget must also share a list of agencies that have DE&I positions or committees, federal contractors that have provided equity training, and grantees that have ?received federal funding to provide or advance DE&I?? since Jan. 20, 2021.

Gender identity. Trump ordered the federal government to only acknowledge two genders, potentially impacting nonbinary and transgender people across the country. Federal employees? gender assigned at birth will now determine the bathrooms they can use and be listed in their personnel file, according to the directive. Additionally, any statements supportive of nonbinary or trans workers will be removed from all agency documents.
 
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