Trump administration ends "segregated facilities" ban in federal contracts
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/18/trump-end-segregated-facilities-ban-contracts
The Trump administration has announced the federal government will no longer unequivocally prohibit contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains.
Why it matters: The change announced last month in an overlookedpublic memo is a symbolic move, first reported by NPR, and comes after President Trump revoked President Lyndon Johnson's decades-old order diversity and affirmative action practices in the federal government.
The big picture: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as many state laws, still makes segregated facilities illegal in all businesses, including federal contractors.
Yes, but: Critics say the recent change sends a message about the government's priorities and potentially eliminates a crucial enforcement tool.
The change follows the Trump administration's reinterpretation of Civil Rights-era laws to focus on "anti-white racism," rather than discrimination against people of color.
Zoom in: A public memo the General Services Administration issued said the change was needed after Trump revoked LBJ's 60-year-old executive order requiring federal contractors to refrain from employment discrimination.
The memo also addresses Trump's executive order on gender identity.
A clause in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) said contractors can't "maintain or provide for its employees any segregated facilities."
The memo stated that when issuing new solicitations or contracts, agencies could no longer include the clause about the "Prohibition of Segregated Facilities."
FAR defined segregated facilities as work areas, restaurants, drinking fountains, transportation, housing and others