March 20, 2025 Story by: Editor
Following a recent policy shift by the Trump administration, the federal government has removed explicit prohibitions preventing contractors from maintaining segregated facilities such as restaurants, waiting rooms, and drinking fountains.
The General Services Administration (GSA) highlighted this change in a public memo last month, which applies to all civil federal agencies. This update stems from President Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which rescinded an executive order issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 that mandated nondiscrimination for federal contractors. The memo also touches on Trump’s executive order concerning gender identity.
Although federal and state laws continue to ban segregation and discrimination, legal experts believe this policy shift carries significant implications for federal contracts.
“It’s symbolic, but it’s incredibly meaningful in its symbolism,” said Melissa Murray, a constitutional law professor at New York University. “These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government’s efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The fact that they are now excluding those provisions from the requirements for federal contractors, I think, speaks volumes,” Murray added.
Removal of Segregation References in Federal Contracts
The provision in question is part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), an extensive document that federal agencies use to draft contracts for suppliers and service providers.
Clause 52.222-21 of the FAR, titled “Prohibition of Segregated Facilities,” states: “The Contractor agrees that it does not and will not maintain or provide for its employees any segregated facilities at any of its establishments, and that it does not and will not permit its employees to perform their services at any location under its control where segregated facilities are maintained.”
Previously, this clause explicitly defined segregated facilities as including work areas, restaurants, drinking fountains, transportation, and housing. It also stated that segregation based on “race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin” was not permitted.
Now, several federal agencies—including the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security—have informed their contracting staff to begin enforcing these revisions.
A recent notice from the National Institutes of Health confirms the immediate implementation of this change. The notice, referencing a maintenance agreement for scientific freeze dryers, states: “FAR 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities and FAR 52.222-26 — Equal Opportunity will not be considered when making award decisions or enforcing requirements.”
It is important to note that all businesses, whether government contractors or not, must still comply with federal and state anti-discrimination laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits segregated facilities.
Sudden Implementation Raises Concerns
One federal worker involved in contract management expressed shock upon learning about the FAR modifications. NPR agreed not to disclose the worker’s identity due to concerns about potential job loss for speaking to the media without authorization.
The worker noted that these changes were enacted without the standard 45- to 90-day public notice and comment period, which is typically required unless in cases of national emergencies.
“The way that they’re implementing this in the contracting field is essentially subverting democracy—you’re supposed to allow agencies to comment on this, contracting officers to comment on it, and think through the implications carefully,” the worker said. “By doing this, they’re essentially ramming things through hoping no one’s going to notice.”
The General Services Administration did not provide an explanation to NPR regarding its decision to bypass the usual public notice and comment procedure or why the “segregated facilities” clause was removed.
In response, GSA spokesperson Will Powell stated: “GSA has taken immediate action to fully implement all current executive orders and is committed to taking action to implement any new executive orders.”
Context and Historical Perspective
Kara Sacilotto, an attorney specializing in federal contracts at the Wiley law firm in Washington, D.C., speculated that the clause may have been flagged due to a revision made during the Obama administration to include “gender identity.”
“That change was made,” she explained, “to implement an Obama-era Executive Order 13672, and that executive order from the Obama administration is one of the ones that President Trump, in his second term, rescinded. And so, along with [Trump’s] other executive orders about gender identification, I would suspect that is the reason why this one got identified on the list.”
However, the memo does not specify the removal of only the “gender identity” portion—it directs the exclusion of the entire clause.
Murray, the law professor, emphasized that racial segregation is not as distant a memory as some may believe. She recalled a personal experience from 1985 when visiting Washington, D.C., with her father, a Jamaican immigrant. He had previously worked at the department store Woodward & Lothrop while attending Howard University.
“I’d thought he had been a salesman at the store, which closed in 1995,” she said. “He’s like, ‘No, no, no, I only worked in the back because Black people weren’t allowed to be on the sales floor.'”
Reflecting on segregation in America, she added, “It’s not far removed at all.”
Source: NPR
