# Executive Order 11246 *United States executive order on non-discrimination and affirmative action by federal contractors (1965–2025)* Executive Order 11246 was a federal executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 24, 1965. It set requirements for non-discriminatory practices and [[Affirmative action]] by federal government contractors.[^1][^2] In its amended form, it barred covered contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also required them to take affirmative action in hiring and in the treatment of employees.[^3] The order remained in effect from 1965 until January 21, 2025, when President Donald Trump revoked it through [[Executive Order 14173]].[^4][^5] The order enters the [[Minnesota]] record through the federal suit filed after its revocation. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] in the District of Minnesota. The complaint is brought under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times.[^6] The project's validated master, *The Instrument No One Will Name*, calls the order "the federal predicate the architecture once rested on." It records that the suit was brought after that predicate was revoked.[^7] The Department's announcement was release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*.[^8] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages ([[How Minnesota Got Here]], note 40) finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described. The same term appears in the [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998, which states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^9] ## Background EO 11246 built on Executive Order 10479. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed that order on August 13, 1953, creating the anti-discrimination Committee on Government Contracts. Eisenhower's order in turn drew on Executive Order 8802, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued in 1941.[^10] The term affirmative action had already been used in Executive Order 10925 in 1961.[^3] Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, organizations had to document their practices only after a preliminary finding of wrongdoing. EO 11246 instead obliged covered businesses to keep records of their hiring and employment practices and to produce them on request.[^10] The order also applied to contractors with at least 51 employees and contracts worth $50,000 or more. If a workforce analysis showed fewer minorities and women than the qualified pool would predict, these contractors had to put affirmative action plans in place.[^10] The implementing federal regulations set out what a plan must contain: - a policy statement on equal opportunity; - an analysis of the current workforce; - identification of under-represented areas; - reasonable, flexible goals and timetables; - action-oriented programs; - support for community action programs; and - an internal audit and reporting system.[^11][^10] The order gave the Department of Labor responsibility for enforcing parts of its non-discrimination provisions in private-industry contracts.[^4][^10] ## Amendments President Johnson issued Executive Order 11375 on October 13, 1967. It amended EO 11246 to add the category "sex" to its anti-discrimination provisions.[^12] President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13672 on July 21, 2014. It amended EO 11246 and President Richard M. Nixon's Executive Order 11478, replacing "sexual orientation" with "sexual orientation, gender identity."[^12] ## Revocation Executive Order 14173, issued January 21, 2025, revoked EO 11246.[^7][^5] As Wikipedia summarizes it, EO 14173 bars federal agencies and contractors from diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) practices in hiring and directs a strictly merit-based approach. It was issued together with Executive Order 14151, which banned DEIA programs and practices within the federal government.[^5] Sources differ on the scope of the revocation: - The project's validated master records that EO 11246 was revoked by EO 14173.[^7] - Claim:link rows citing the National Archives codification and the Department of Labor describe the federal-contracting affirmative-action framework as "partially revoked" by EO 14173.[^1][^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the order in 1965 and amended it in 1967. President Barack Obama amended it in 2014, and President Donald Trump revoked it in 2025.[^1][^12][^5] - Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the 2026 suit against the State as a case of general public importance.[^8] - As of the master's refresh on June 18, 2026, the case was before a three-judge district court. The panel was Circuit Judge [[Raymond W. Gruender]], Chief Judge [[Patrick J. Schiltz]] (D. Minn.), and Judge [[D. Price Marshall Jr.]] (E.D. Ark.), with Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins assigned.[^7] ### What - The complaint is brought under Title VII and cites §43A.191 eight times. These citations include subd. 3(c), which requires an agency to explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^6] - The master describes the suit as a challenge under Title VII §§703(a)(1) and (a)(2) to the Minnesota Department of Human Services hiring [[Pre-Hire Justification policy]], pleaded through *Bostock* textualism.[^7] - The signed agency policy is filed as the operative Exhibit B. - That exhibit contains the [[Non-underrepresented candidate]] language.[^7] - In *[[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]]*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025), the Supreme Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs." The Court rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^13] - The record does not establish that EO 11246 itself governed the State's hiring policy. The connection the record documents is that the complaint was filed after the order's revocation.[^7] ### When - September 24, 1965: order signed.[^1] - October 13, 1967: amended by EO 11375.[^12] - July 21, 2014: amended by EO 13672.[^12] - January 21, 2025: revoked by EO 14173.[^7][^5] - January 14, 2026: complaint filed and release No. 26-21 issued.[^6][^8] - February 27, 2026: the State's response was due. The case was ongoing as of June 18, 2026.[^7] ## See also - [[United States v. State of Minnesota (affirmative-action hiring)]] - [[Executive Order 14173]] - [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] - [[Affirmative action]] - [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] ## Notes [^1]: National Archives, Office of the Federal Register, *Executive Order 11246 — codification* (Sept. 24, 1965) — text and date of the order; the project's claim:link row describes it as the federal-contracting affirmative-action framework that EO 14173 "partially revoked." https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11246.html [^2]: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, *Executive Order 11246 — Federal Contractor Affirmative Action Requirements* — the order's affirmative-action requirements for federal contractors. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/executive-order-11246-affirmative-action [^3]: Wikipedia, *Executive Order 11246* (rev. 1377292548, retrieved Oct. 26, 2026), lead section — the amended prohibition on employment discrimination, the affirmative-action requirement, and the earlier use of the phrase in EO 10925 (1961). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11246 [^4]: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, *Executive Order 11246* — the federal-contracting affirmative-action framework, enforced by the Department of Labor; claim:link rows describe it as "partially revoked" by EO 14173. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/executive-order-11246 [^5]: Wikipedia, *Executive Order 11246* (rev. 1377292548), "Revocation" section — rescission on January 21, 2025 through EO 14173, the content of EO 14173, and the accompanying EO 14151. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11246 [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII action; cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^7]: How Minnesota Got Here, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (validated master, densified and refreshed June 18, 2026), note 53, citing the complaint in *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 — the challenge to the DHS Pre-Hire Justification policy, Exhibit B, revocation of EO 11246 by EO 14173 (Jan. 21, 2025), the three-judge panel, the Feb. 27, 2026 response date, and the case's status as ongoing. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — the release title; Attorney General Pamela Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^9]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; the catalogue finding is the project's own (How Minnesota Got Here, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^10]: Wikipedia, *Executive Order 11246* (rev. 1377292548), "Background" section — EO 10479 and EO 8802, the documentation requirement, the 51-employee and $50,000 thresholds, the contents of affirmative action plans, and Department of Labor enforcement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11246 [^11]: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, *Executive Order 11246 — Regulations* — the implementing federal regulations. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/executive-order-11246/regulations [^12]: Wikipedia, *Executive Order 11246* (rev. 1377292548), "Amendments" section — EO 11375 (Oct. 13, 1967) and EO 13672 (July 21, 2014). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11246 [^13]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — holding on Title VII's disparate-treatment provision and rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf