Trump’s Blow to Tiny But Powerful Contractor Watchdog: Explained

President Donald Trump last week gutted the core enforcement power of the US Department of Labor watchdog that polices federal contractors for anti-discrimination and affirmative violations, leaving companies that work for the government without clear guidelines.

Following Trump’s Jan. 21 rescission of decades-old Executive Order 11246, the DOL halted audits and investigations at its Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs, upending enforcement of mandates prohibiting workplace bias based on race, sex, and other protected categories, as well as requiring affirmative action plans for recruiting underrepresented workers.

That gives a reprieve, for now, to the roughly 2,000 companies the Biden administration ...