Bill would require diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in all state agencies

As the Trump administration takes aim at diversity initiatives in both the public and private sectors, a New Jersey lawmaker wants to require all state agencies and departments to have a diversity, equity, and inclusion office.

Under new legislation, each office would be led by a chief DEI officer who would oversee programs that promote cross-cultural education and employee engagement. Bill sponsor Assemblyman Reginald Atkins (D-Union) said as one of the most diverse states in the country, New Jersey should have a government reflective of its people. 

“This bill is important because it makes sure every state department and agency is thinking about equity and inclusion in a real way, not just talking about it. It gives structure to something we say we value: making sure all communities are treated fairly and represented,” Atkins told the New Jersey Monitor. 

The measure would also require the office to keep track of relevant data and find ways to improve agencies “with the goal of facilitating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.”

The legislation stresses that no data would be used for civil immigration enforcement.

His bill comes amid a national trend of rolling back DEI programs. A wave of corporations revoked their DEI policies after President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders in his first week in office terminating all DEI offices in the federal government and cutting contracts with companies that provide DEI training, among other things.

New Jersey said last week it wouldn’t follow the Trump administration’s demand to certify that Garden State schools have no “DEI practices in violation of federal law.” The federal Department of Education has said it would withhold funding from states that don’t comply with Trump’s order to jettison all DEI initiatives. 

Atkins didn’t comment directly on Trump’s move to end diversity programs. His bill, which has a Senate companion bill sponsored by Sen. Angela McKnight (D-Hudson), has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing.