Free speech: Federal judge blocks ban on diversity training

The Trump administration suffered a defeat as a federal judge blocked an executive order abolishing federal diversity training for the government and its contractors. Judge Beth Labson Freeman approved an injunction in a lawsuit brought by LGBT rights groups. The judge said the group had a good chance of winning the suit on First Amendment grounds. (USA TODAY, December 24, 2020, by Jessica Guynn)

“In its ruling, the court held that Section 4 of the executive order, which applies to workplace training programs conducted by federal contractors, and Section 5 of the order, which applies to recipients of federal grants, likely violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, insofar as they are an impermissible government restriction on free speech, and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution, because they are impermissibly vague and do not provide clear notice of what is and what is not permissible expression,” wrote David Goldstein and James Paretti, Jr. in JD Supra, December 24, 2020.