President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign pledged to “[e]ncourage and incentivize unionization and collective bargaining”; “[e]nsure that workers are treated with dignity and receive the pay, benefits, and workplace protections they deserve”; and “[c]heck the abuse of corporate power over labor and hold corporate executives personally accountable for violations of labor laws.” See www.joebiden.com/unions. As Inauguration Day approaches, employers are looking ahead to what the next four years may hold. Employers should expect a more worker-friendly era via executive orders and rules set by agencies in the new administration.

Bias Training

One of President-elect Biden’s first official actions likely will be to repeal President Trump’s controversial Executive Order 13950, “Combatting Race and Sex Stereotyping.” This Executive Order, issued on Sept. 22, 2020, prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from holding “workplace training that inculcates in its employees any form of race or sex stereotyping or any form of race or sex scapegoating.” Among the training prohibited by the Executive Order is the concept that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”