Trump’s Attack on ‘Illegal’ DEI Disorients Corporate America

President Donald Trump’s executive orders against “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion policies have left corporations and their lawyers struggling to grasp exactly what that means.

Trump on Tuesday ordered federal contractors to affirm they don’t “engage in illegal discrimination, including illegal DEI.” He also directed government agencies to draw up a list of publicly traded corporations, large nonprofits and others in the private sector for potential investigations into compliance violations.

However, the order didn’t provide a definition of what a DEI program is, nor did it say what it believes is unlawful, employment lawyers said. There’s also no detail ...