Most employers intend to maintain diversity, equity and inclusion programs with either few or no changes even as the Trump administration pursues efforts to end private-sector DEI, according to the results of law firm Littler Mendelson’s latest annual employer survey published Wednesday.
Just below half, 45%, of respondents said their organizations would not consider new or further rollbacks of DEI programs, while an additional 32% said they would carry out such changes only to a “small extent.” Littler said it polled nearly 350 in-house lawyers, business executives and human resources professionals across a variety of industries and organizational sizes between late February and mid-March 2025.
Most employers don’t expect significant DEI changes
President Donald Trump’s multifaceted efforts to end private-sector DEI programs continue to move forward. He has directed agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to target DEI programs that allegedly discriminate against people on the basis of protected characteristics in violation of civil rights laws.
Employers got a sense of what enforcement might look like after EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas sent letters to 20 law firms in March inquiring about various DEI programs. Four of the firms ultimately entered settlement agreements with EEOC last month in which they agreed not to label any lawful employment programs as DEI.
Littler found that employers most often expected policy and regulatory changes in DEI, followed by immigration, LGBTQ+ protections and other issues. A large majority, 92%, said they expected EEOC to apply such changes with respect to diversity and affirmative action programs.
Broad legal uncertainty
Employers anticipate litigation on a number of fronts, DEI included. Littler said 45% of respondents were concerned about DEI litigation for 2025, compared to 24% who said the same in the 2024 edition of the firm’s survey. A larger share of respondents, 63%, were concerned about discrimination and harassment claims.
DEI litigation concerns on the rise in 2025
Uncertainty in the regulatory environment may be muddying employers’ legal outlook, though. Respondents were far less certain that the Trump administration would seek policy or regulatory shifts in areas such as labor relations, wage-and-hour law, artificial intelligence, healthcare benefits and data privacy.
“Though it may be some time before the dust settles, employers would be wise to actively revisit their policies and make strategic adjustments based on where this new regulatory regime is likely to be headed in the months and years to come,” Jim Paretti, co-chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, said in the firm’s report.
A disruptive immigration outlook
Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement stance is cause for at least some level of concern about workforce staffing challenges moving forward, according to the survey data. Nearly 1 in 3 respondents said their organizations were “slightly concerned” about such effects, while 20% were moderately concerned. On the flip side, 42% said they were not at all concerned about immigration policy shifts.
Most employers concerned about immigration enforcement's affect on staffing challenges
The administration has sought increased audits of employers’ Form I-9 compliance procedures, potentially including their use of electronic Form I-9 vendors whose programs may be out of compliance, sources previously told HR Dive. But while the administration has focused on targeting illegal immigration, its efforts also may have adverse consequences for legal immigration, Littler said.
Additionally, the administration’s enforcement activity could lead to visa processing delays, difficulties in retaining employees and added costs for employers with foreign workers, the firm added.
“With the expected uptick in worksite enforcement, it is important for employers to proactively conduct reviews to check that I-9 forms are up to date, that they know where they’re located, and that there is a crisis management team in place in the event of a site visit from ICE or another government agency,” Jorge Lopez, shareholder and chair of Littler’s immigration and global mobility practice group, said in the report.
