Thu Mar 20 05:30:00 UTC 2025: ## Federal Government Quietly Removes Ban on Segregated Facilities for Contractors

**Washington, D.C.** – A recent move by the Trump administration has eliminated a decades-old federal regulation explicitly prohibiting government contractors from maintaining segregated facilities. The change, implemented through a memo from the General Services Administration (GSA), removes a clause from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that banned segregation in work areas, restaurants, drinking fountains, transportation, and housing based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

The GSA cites President Trump’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and gender identity, as the impetus for the change. While existing state and federal laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, continue to prohibit segregation, legal experts express concern over the symbolic and potentially far-reaching implications of this action.

Professor Melissa Murray of NYU School of Law notes the historical significance of the removed clause, highlighting its role in facilitating integration during the Civil Rights era. The swift and quiet implementation of the change, bypassing the usual public comment period, has alarmed some federal workers and legal professionals. One anonymous federal worker, fearing reprisal, expressed concern that the process subverted democratic procedure.

The GSA has not publicly explained its decision to omit the standard public comment period or its rationale for removing the entire clause, rather than just the portion related to gender identity, which some believe was the primary target. Legal experts speculate that the clause’s revision under the Obama administration to include gender identity may have triggered its removal under the Trump administration’s subsequent executive orders.

Despite the change, all businesses, regardless of government contracts, remain subject to existing anti-discrimination laws. However, the removal of the explicit prohibition within federal contracts raises concerns about the potential rollback of hard-won civil rights protections and serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality in the United States.

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