DEI Gets Its Pink Slip: Trump Dumps Race-Based Federal Hiring Rules

The Trump administration is pulling a 1978 disparate-impact framework out of federal hiring regulations, eliminating rules that required agencies to apply it to job tests and other employment standards.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an interim final rule Thursday removing references to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures from several civil service regulations. The rule is scheduled for publication Friday, when it will take effect, followed by a 60-day public comment period.

Like a Boss: Brandon Gill Ends an Ayanna Pressley Rant on Women's Rights With One Perfect Question

Those guidelines were jointly adopted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Labor Department, the Justice Department, and the Civil Service Commission. They allowed a hiring procedure to face scrutiny when it produced different statistical outcomes among racial or ethnic groups, even without direct evidence that an employer intended to discriminate. That put agencies in the business of running expensive validation studies on standard job requirements.

The White House described OPM's decision as a landmark step in President Donald Trump’s effort to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies across the federal government.

Trump admin's push to scrap DEI in federal government takes landmark step with new hiring rulehttps://t.co/CzAQsfgtT5
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) July 30, 2026

OPM’s new rule deletes the guidelines from regulations governing general employment practices, category ratings, Reemployment Priority List candidates, and federal equal-opportunity recruitment programs.

The rule follows a June 9 opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which found that the guidelines used an unconstitutional interpretation of Title VII and pressured employers to make race-conscious decisions to avoid liability. The office argued that disparate-impact claims should be tied to practices suggesting likely intentional discrimination, rather than statistical differences alone.

OLC wrote:

EEOC's Title VII guidelines are unconstitutional because they contemplate liability based on disparate effects alone, without regard to an employer’s likely intent, and pressure employers to engage in race-based decisionmaking. Properly understood, disparate-impact liability proscribes only those practices that reflect a significant likelihood of intentional discrimination.

OLC also addressed aptitude tests, background checks, and similar requirements, concluding that they should be presumed job-related when an employer can show a rational connection to a legitimate business purpose.

OPM Director Scott Kupor said the department’s regulations are now being brought into line with that opinion.

"Federal hiring should be based on merit, qualifications, and the ability to perform the job," Kupor said. "This rule ensures OPM's regulations reflect legal guidance while preserving the rigorous, job-related standards that help agencies recruit and hire the most qualified workforce in service to the American people."

The change does not repeal Title VII or other federal nondiscrimination laws. Agencies must still analyze the jobs they are filling, connect employment requirements to job performance, and use professionally developed selection procedures. Protections under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and veterans' preference laws also remain in place.

What disappears is the federal requirement to work backward from racial statistics. OPM expects agencies to spend less time and money conducting adverse-impact analyses and validation studies under the 1978 guidelines. Applicants will be judged by whether they meet job-related standards, not whether an agency’s hiring numbers produce a preferred demographic result.

Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.