The changes that affect government contractors take effect once the Department of Labor provides regulations supporting them, which White House a spokesman said would occur early in 2015.

Their presentation included research from the Williams Institute at UCLA to show that many federal contractors' employees were already protected against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by corporate policy, state statute, or local law.

"[7] In March 2012, 72 Democratic members of Congress led by Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey asked the president to issue an executive order.

They noted that most of the federal government's 25 largest contractors already had such policies, including all of the top five: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics.

[8] He said:[9] We're deeply committed to working hand-in-hand with partners in the LGBT community on a number of fronts to build the case for employment non-discrimination policies including by complementing the existing body of compelling research with government-backed data and analysis, building a coalition of key stakeholders and decision-makers, directly engaging with and educating all sectors of the business community -- from major corporations to contractors to small business -- and raising public awareness about the human and financial costs of discrimination in the work force.Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the president's position disappointing and said: "Given the number of employees that would be covered by this executive order, it represents a critical step forward.

[11] In late April 2014, Vice President Joseph Biden reiterated the administration position, but agreed there was "no downside" to issuing an executive order covering government contractors.

[12] A writer in U.S. News & World Report noted that the administration had made similar arguments about the need for Congress to legislate an increase in the minimum wage and then, in the absence of Congressional action, issued an executive order in January 2014 to raise the rate paid by government contractors.

[14][15] On June 25, 160 leaders of churches, religious institutions, and organizations sent a letter to President Obama asking him to exempt them from the requirements of the anticipated executive order.

[3] He called for Congressional action to extend similar protections to all workers, noting that more states recognize same-sex marriage than prohibit discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation.

"[25] It required companies receiving federal contracts over a half-million dollars to demonstrate compliance with labor laws, including those with LGBT protections.

On March 27, 2017, President Trump revoked Executive Order 13673, meaning that companies no longer must prove their compliance with labor laws to retain their federal contracts.

For example, a biological male employee may be allowed to use the women's restroom or locker room provided by the employer because the male employee identifies as a female.Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, said that the executive order "upholds already existing religious exemptions that will allow us to maintain fidelity to our deeply held religious beliefs.

"[28] He issued a statement that said:[29] As has always been the case, Catholic Charities USA supports the rights of all to employment and abides by the hiring requirements of all federal contracts....

"[34] Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition wrote to supporters that Obama:[35] issued his executive order making gays, transgenders, and she-males protected classes among federal workers and contractors–refusing to include any religious exemption.

"[36] A spokesman for ExxonMobil, a large-scale government contractor that had long refused to add sexual orientation and gender identity protection to its corporate personnel policies, announced on July 22 that it planned to comply with the executive order.

[38] On December 3, 2014, the Department of Labor announced the text of its rule for enforcing this executive order, which takes effect 120 days following its publication in the Federal Register.