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Committee approves emergency rule aligning Tennessee equal-employment plan definition with presidential executive order
Summary
The Joint Government Operations Committee gave positive recommendations to an emergency rule amendment from the Department of Human Resources that revises Tennessee’s equal employment opportunity plan definition to conform with a recent presidential executive order, with the change intended to protect federal funding.
The Joint Government Operations Committee voted to give a positive recommendation to an emergency rule from the Department of Human Resources that revises Tennessee’s definition of an "equal employment opportunity plan." The department said the change was prompted by President Trump's Executive Order 14,173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," and is intended to preserve state compliance with federal contracting requirements.
Department of Human Resources Senior Policy Advisor Eric Mayo told the committee the executive order repealed prior orders and directed federal agencies and federal contractors to end policies based on race or other preferences and to return to merit-based employment. Mayo said the revised rule definition reads in part as "a statistical document which identifies and analyzes patterns in the participation and utilization of certain groups in the workforce based on federal and or state law requirements." He added the emergency rule was filed because EO 14,173 sets a 90-day compliance period that could affect federal funding.
Committee members asked whether the rule applies to the entire state because many state departments receive federal funds. Mayo said compliance applies to federal departments and agencies and also to any state entity receiving federal funds or holding federal contracts. Representative McKenzie pressed whether the state would stop collecting race or gender data on applications; Mayo said the department would follow up to confirm what data fields are currently collected and would report back to the committee.
The committee recorded a Senate vote of seven ayes and one no. The committee also recorded a positive recommendation from the House. The department said it held a public hearing on May 19 and received no public comments on the permanent rulemaking that will follow the emergency action.
The department said the emergency amendment is designed to maintain the state's federal funding streams while preserving Tennessee's ability to track workforce participation data required by law. The department has initiated a separate notice-and-comment rulemaking for a permanent change and expects finalization later in the year.
