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ARTICLE · 10 APRIL 2025

Another Court Blocks DEI-Related Certification Requirement

Foley & Lardner LLP
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On March 27, 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the Department of Labor (DOL)...

United StatesEmployment and HR
Tyler Dever
Tyler Dever
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On March 27, 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing certain provisions of Executive Orders 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) and 14151 (Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing) against Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT), a domestic nonprofit that receives federal funding from the DOL. The court found that Executive Order (EO) 14173's certification provision, which sought to require CWIT to certify that it does not operate any programs "promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws," is problematic because the EO does not define what constitutes "illegal" DEI activities, and that the CWIT is likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the certification provision violates the First Amendment

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