United States President Donald Trump’s administration has directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off, as the Republican leader takes aim at initiatives meant to address systemic racism.
An Office of Personnel Management memo, first reported by CBS News, directed agencies to place DEI office staffers on paid leave by 5pm (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday and take down all public DEI-focused webpages by the same deadline.
Agencies must also cancel any DEI-related training and end any related contracts, and federal workers are being asked to report to the office if they suspect any DEI-related programme has been renamed to obfuscate its purpose within 10 days – or face “adverse consequences”.
By Thursday, federal agencies have been directed to compile a list of federal DEI offices and workers as of Election Day in November. They also are expected to develop a plan …