Defense and national security

Executive Order 13087: Prohibiting Discrimination Based on sexual orientation in the competitive service of the Federal Civilian Workforce, Which Includes civilians Employed by the Armed Forces

President: Bill Clinton

Added sexual orientation to the executive policy barring discrimination in the federal civilian workforce, including civilian Armed Forces employees.

Status: Revoked. Is Executive Order 13087 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13087 was revoked. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13087 do?

EO 13087 amended EO 11478 by adding sexual orientation to the federal civilian equal-employment policy. It covered the competitive service and civilian employees of the Armed Forces, while leaving uniformed military personnel outside its scope. The order itself created no new cause of action. Since the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock decision, Title VII separately prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation, and the EEOC currently applies that protection to federal agencies. A 2025 order revoked EO 13672 but did not list EO 13087 for revocation.

Administration position: The amendment set executive policy for civilian employment; it did not govern military service or itself create a new judicial remedy.
SignedMay 28, 1998
Parent orderEO 11478
WorkforceFederal civilian employees

Before and after

Before the order

Federal policy barred several forms of discrimination, but EO 11478 did not expressly list sexual orientation.

After the order

Sexual orientation became an express government-wide civilian employment category, with later Title VII protection providing a statutory complaint route.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Federal agenciesMaintain nondiscriminatory civilian personnel policyContinuing subject to law
OPMIssue personnel guidanceImplemented
EEOCProcess Title VII federal-sector complaintsCurrent statutory role

What happened next

EO 13087 amended EO 11478.

Bostock held that Title VII covers sexual-orientation and transgender-status discrimination.

EO 14173 revoked EO 13672 but did not expressly revoke EO 13087.

EEOC guidance continued to list sexual orientation within federal-sector sex discrimination.