Businesses under consent decrees for violating federal anti-discrimination laws, including fairness in lending and hiring laws, may be off the hook under a sweeping executive order (EO) issued by President Donald Trump last month. The EO, aimed at furthering his agenda of dismantling protections against discrimination, says all agencies โ€œshall evaluateโ€ existing agreements by the end of July. The sprawling order, โ€œRestoring equality of opportunity and meritocracy,โ€ issued April 23, could bring pending investigations to a halt as well.

Adrianne Appel writes regulatory news, policy, and trends for Compliance Week. She previously reported about policy developments for Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Government. Email: adrianne.appel@complianceweek.com LinkedIn:...