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

“To what extent is your organization considering new or further rollbacks of your inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D) programs and policies as a result of executive orders issued by the Trump administration?”

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.

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

“In which of the following areas is your organization concerned about employment-related litigation over the next 12 months? (Select all that apply)”

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.

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Source: https://www.hrdive.com/news/dei-may-go-largely-unchanged-despite-trump-attacks/747433/