Attorney General Bonta Urges Trump Administration to Withdraw Unlawful Contractor Production and Reporting Requirements

Proposal would impose unclear, confusing, potentially duplicative, and burdensome obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a multistate coalition in submitting a comment letter urging the Trump Administration to withdraw a proposed information collection request tied to Executive Order 14398, “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors.” Attorney General Bonta previously co-led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in suing the Trump Administration over the addition of new terms to federal contracts that — in the name of purging “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) — impose unclear and confusing requirements on federal contractors and subcontractors. The new proposed information collection would impose reporting, recordkeeping, and information-sharing obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors in connection with a new prohibition to be included in federal contracts related to DEI activities. In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the proposed information collection would violate the Paperwork Reduction Act, that the notice of the proposed collection fails to provide sufficient detail for meaningful public comment and underestimates the burden on contractors, and that the proposed collection does not provide for privacy and security of sensitive, confidential, and personally identifiable information.
 
“The Trump Administration continues to impose unlawful, burdensome new requirements on federal contractors in the name of combatting discrimination. This is a lie,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This latest proposal will not make our government function better, nor will it do anything to address discrimination that was not already being done by contract requirements that the Trump Administration has already done away with. It will, however, cause confusion, uncertainty, and unnecessary costs for federal contractors. As Attorney General, I will continue to hold this Administration accountable, in court and at every regulatory step, when it cuts corners and tramples on the rights of our states, workers, and communities.”
 
Executive Order 14398 directs federal agencies to add new contract terms barring federal contractors from engaging in purported “racially discriminatory DEI activities.” Most relevant here, the Order requires contractors to furnish information and reports, provide access to books, records, and accounts, report certain subcontractor conduct, and notify contracting agencies about litigation involving the validity of the new contract terms. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has already directed agencies to begin including these requirements in new and existing contracts, even though the Paperwork Reduction Act process required for approval of the proposed information collection has not been completed.
 
California and its agencies regularly contract with the federal government, and the coalition states collectively hold existing federal contracts worth billions of dollars. Because states regularly serve as federal contractors and subcontractors, the coalition warns that the proposal could force states to accept unclear new obligations and costs or risk losing the benefit of federal contracts that support critical public services. The coalition also warns that the proposal fails to explain what information contractors may be required to collect or provide, how long records must be retained, what types of subcontractor conduct must be reported, and how sensitive or confidential information would be protected. 
 
In the letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the federal government to withdraw the proposal and take corrective action to make clear that the information collection language already placed in federal contracts without Paperwork Reduction Act compliance is not legally operative.
 
Attorney General Bonta is joined in today’s comment letter by the Attorneys General of Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.