Executive Order 14035: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce
President: Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Directed a government-wide strategy and agency plans for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in federal employment, including data, recruitment, pay equity and workplace access.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 14035 still in effect? No. Executive Order 14148 revoked Executive Order 14035 on January 20, 2025. EO 14151 separately directed the termination of federal DEI programs; statutory equal-employment and disability protections are distinct from the revoked executive policy.
What does Executive Order 14035 do?
EO 14035 established a coordinated federal employment initiative covering diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. It updated the earlier diversity-and-inclusion initiative under EO 13583, adding accessibility and equity to the strategy and requiring measurable agency plans. Its scope included recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, compensation, accommodations, workplace harassment and employee benefits. Signed text.
The order focused on federal employees and applicants, not a general private-employer quota. It instructed agencies to identify barriers and use workforce data while protecting privacy and following merit-system principles. Specific provisions addressed paid internships, recruitment partnerships, disabled applicants, formerly incarcerated applicants, LGBTQ+ employees, identification documents and possible reliance on salary history. Different provisions required assessment, guidance or consideration of regulatory changes; they did not all impose the same immediate hiring rule. Signed text.
OPM and OMB were to organize the government-wide plan in consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and named White House and departmental officials. Agency heads then had to assess their own employment systems and prepare plans and annual reports. The design made central guidance and agency evidence operate together, rather than assuming every department faced identical hiring or accessibility problems. Signed text.
Before and after
Before the order
Before EO 14035, federal antidiscrimination and disability law already applied, and EO 13583 provided an earlier diversity-and-inclusion planning framework. The concrete change was a broader, coordinated DEIA initiative with new planning, reporting, recruitment and benefit-review assignments. The order did not replace equal-employment statutes or veterans’ preference with an unrestricted power to select applicants on protected characteristics. Signed text.
After the order
The government-wide strategic plan was released in November 2021. Departments were expected to translate it into their own plans and report progress rather than treat the central document as the end of the process. On January 20, 2025, EO 14148 expressly revoked EO 14035. EO 14151, signed the same day, directed dismantling federal DEI programs. That reversal affected the executive program while existing statutory requirements continued to require separate compliance. Official follow-up record 1. Official follow-up record 2.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| OPM Director | Co-lead the plan; issue internship and workforce-data guidance; review benefits, salary-history policy and transgender-employment guidance; assess barriers for formerly incarcerated applicants and report. | Plan within 150 days, updated at least every four years; formerly incarcerated employment report within 120 days. |
| OMB Deputy Director for Management | Co-lead the initiative and reporting system; coordinate paid-internship, recruitment, data and accessibility guidance. | Government-wide plan within 150 days; ongoing implementation support. |
| EEOC Chair | Consult on the strategy; coordinate demographic-data, antiharassment and accessibility guidance. | During preparation and implementation; no separate fixed deadline. |
| Heads of agencies | Assess barriers; submit agency plans, collect voluntary workforce data, report progress, expand recruitment and implement lawful accommodation, benefit and workplace-access changes. | Preliminary assessment within 100 days; plans within 120 days after central plan and annually thereafter. |
| OSTP Director | Coordinate the recruitment-partnership initiative with OPM and OMB; consult on the government-wide plan. | Ongoing; no separate fixed deadline. |
| Labor Secretary | Consult on the strategy, coordinate disability-employment access and review the Workforce Recruitment Program with Defense. | No separate fixed deadline. |
| Defense Secretary | Review expansion of the Workforce Recruitment Program and promote equitable Military Health System benefits for LGBTQ+ members and eligible dependents. | No separate fixed deadline. |
| GSA Administrator | Work with OPM, OMB and the Access Board on accessible federal workplaces and accommodation. | During implementation. |
| US Access Board Executive Director | Coordinate disability employment opportunities and accessible physical facilities. | No separate fixed deadline. |
| Commerce Secretary / NIST Director | Review and update employee-identity credential standards to address transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming employees. | As appropriate; no fixed calendar deadline. |
| Director of National Intelligence | Mitigate LGBTQ+ applicants’ and employees’ security-clearance and background-investigation barriers in consultation with OPM and agencies. | No separate fixed deadline. |
| Domestic Policy Adviser, National Security Adviser, National Economic Council Director and Gender Policy Council co-chairs | Consult on the central plan; the Domestic Policy Adviser receives preliminary assessments and agency plans. | On the central and agency planning schedules. |
| Chief Statistician of the United States | Consult on statistical workforce-data guidance and privacy protection. | When guidance is revised or issued. |
What happened next
Biden signed EO 14035. Official source
The government-wide DEIA strategic plan was released. Official source
EO 14148 revoked the order; EO 14151 directed ending federal DEI programs. Official source
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order cited presidential civil-service authority under 5 USC 3301 and 3302 and delegated that authority to OPM for its assignments. Title VII, the Rehabilitation Act, merit-system principles, privacy requirements and appropriations constrained implementation. Independent agencies were encouraged, rather than uniformly ordered, to comply. None of these provisions could authorize discriminatory selection contrary to controlling statutes. Signed text.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 9, 2026. How we research →
Title VII, the Rehabilitation Act, veterans’ preference, merit-system statutes, privacy rules and constitutional equal-protection principles controlled implementation. The order could not authorize unlawful employment preferences.