Further Guidance Regarding Ending DEIA Offices, Programs & Initiatives

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memorandum as a follow up to its earlier January 21 guidance and January 24 guidance on Executive Order 14,151 to eradicate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) from the government. OPM's February 5 memo provided additional instructions on the elimination of DEIA functions and offices. With regard to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) offices and offices that handled accessibility or reasonable accommodation requests, the memo instructed that those functions should be retained but staffed at the minimum level necessary to carry out statutorily mandated functions. It also instructed that, if the EEO office had been cut because it was labeled a "DEIA" office and thus subject to a reduction in force (RIF), the statutorily required functions the EEO office previously performed should be distributed to other offices or employees. 

With regard to Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), the memo emphasized that the revocation of two executive orders (EOs), EOs 13,583 and 14,035, removed two of the primary legal authorities for ERGs. It instructed that agencies "prohibit ERGs that promote unlawful DEIA initiatives or advance recruitment, hiring, preferential benefits (including but not limited to training or other career development opportunities), or employee retention agendas based on protected characteristics." However, agencies were permitted to allow affinity groups to host events at the agency's leadership's discretion.