Trump is scrapping a 60-year-old rule to protect workers from discrimination. How to spot a company's red flags

Republican Andrea Lucas was appointed commissioner by Trump and has undertaken a transformation of the agency. At a July hearing, Lucas claimed the agency’s data collection was burdensome to employers, unconstitutional, encouraged DEI practices and prompted discrimination against white workers.

The EEOC’s Republican majority voted 2-to-1 to end the collection of data, pending public comment. Thousands of comments were submitted, but the civil rights agency is expected to finalize the proposal as soon as this month with little changes.

The move was also recommended by Project 2025, a controversial conservative blueprint that has guided other Trump administration policies.

The EEOC did not respond to Moneywise’s request for comment in time for publication.

Spotting red flags in the workplace

With changes taking place at the EEOC, it’s important for workers to be able to identify red flags in the workplace to help protect them from discrimination — and know when to take action if it unfortunately happens. Here are some possible red flags:

1. Questionable hiring practices: Being asked uncomfortable, unrelated or deeply personal questions during the hiring process can be a sign something is off. For example, questions about family planning, language skills or your ethnic background.
2. Lack of diversity: A possible warning sign could be if a workplace is homogenous and tends to hire only certain kinds of people. It can also be problematic if the diversity is within fixed roles, for example if all the female members of a team are in administrative roles and all the male members are in management positions.
3. Unequal pay or denied promotions: Talking about pay at work can be uncomfortable and frowned upon, but it can provide insight into workplace equality. If two employees with the same standing are being paid differently, it could indicate a form of workplace discrimination. Being overlooked for promotions could also be a sign of discrimination depending on the circumstances. American workers have the right to talk about wages and compensation with other workers, unions, and the media. It’s illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for this.

Despite changes to the EEOC, workers who believe they are experiencing discrimination should still file with their field office. Laws preventing discrimination are still the same despite changes to the EEOC’s mandate and the agency will still investigate potential civil rights violations.