Government operations and workforce · Federal pay

Executive Order 13665: Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information

President: Barack Obama

Amended federal contractor equal-employment rules to prohibit retaliation for discussing or disclosing compensation.

Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13665 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13665 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13665 do?

EO 13665 amended EO 11246 so covered contractors could not discharge or discriminate against employees or applicants for asking about, discussing or disclosing their own or another person’s compensation, subject to a limited essential-job-functions defense. Labor implemented it through OFCCP regulations. EO 14173 revoked EO 11246 and its subsequent amendments in January 2025, and Labor ceased enforcement of that regulatory scheme.

Administration position: The protection had exceptions for employees who obtained pay information through essential job functions, and separate labor and discrimination laws may still protect some discussions.
SignedApril 8, 2014
AmendedEO 11246
Final rule effectiveJanuary 11, 2016
Enforcement endedJanuary 21, 2025

Before and after

Before the order

Contractors could maintain pay-secrecy policies without this specific EO 11246 retaliation prohibition.

After the order

Covered workers gained a contract-based pay-discussion protection until the underlying order was revoked.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Federal contractorsInclude and follow pay-transparency nondiscrimination rulesEnded under EO 11246
OFCCPInvestigate and enforceCeased in 2025
WorkersRely on any applicable NLRA or statutory rightsContinuing independently

What happened next

EO 13665 amended EO 11246.

The implementing rule took effect.

EO 14173 revoked EO 11246 and its amendments.

Labor ordered enforcement to cease.