Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as well as immigration are the most pressing workplace management and legal concerns among executives amid recent executive orders, changes at federal agencies and a growing number of state and local regulations targeting these two areas.
This is according to an annual employer survey conducted by Littler, an employment and labor law practice that represents management. The survey included nearly 350 in-house lawyers, business executives and human resources professionals.
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Eighty-four percent of those surveyed said changes to workplace regulations and policies surrounding DEI will impact their business this year. Seventy-five percent pointed to changes related to immigration policy, and 58% were concerned about LGBTQ+ protections in the workplace. Nearly half of employers indicated they are concerned about litigation related to DEI practices, double the percentage that were concerned about this during last year’s survey, said Littler.
Despite these concerns, 45% of respondents said their organization is not considering any new or further rollbacks of DEI programs in response to executive orders.
About 58% of employers said they are worried about potential staffing challenges that could result from the administration’s immigration policies. Nearly three-quarters expect enforcement action to have a significant or moderate impact on their workplaces over the next year.
On the other hand, respondents are expecting less federal scrutiny in other areas, including National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforcement, wage and hour/pay practices, and artificial intelligence use in the workplace. However, 82 percent of respondents expect an increase in legislation and regulation at the state and local levels that will impact their workplaces over the coming year, according to the survey.
Within a more relaxed regulatory environment around AI, nearly one-third of employers said they plan to increase their use of AI in the workplace, with an even higher percentage of technology companies indicating they plan to do so. Many respondents said their organizations still do not have policies or guidelines to oversee employee use of AI, however.
Respondents also were asked about work schedules, with more than half saying they have increased in-person work requirements over the past 12 months or are considering doing so. Most are focused on increasing the number of required in-person workdays within their hybrid schedules, with 29% having already done so and 12% considering such a change, said Littler. Employers report an increase in requests for remote work accommodations and about half are concerned about workplace accommodation lawsuits over the next year.
Seventy percent of respondents said they’ve seen an increase in leave of absence requests or accommodations for mental health conditions. A large share of respondents also note increases in requests for intermittent or reduced schedule leaves, and extended or open-ended leaves.
“These types of leaves can be particularly difficult for businesses to manage, as they often come without much notice, occur at irregular intervals and/or do not have defined end dates,” said the report.
Forty-five percent of respondents said they have received requests from employees over the past year to adjust work requirements and/or environments to allow for the practice of religious beliefs, and Littler said they may continue to see an uptick in such religious accommodation requests over the next year as the Trump administration and the EEOC have signaled a focus on religious protections.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
