The second Trump administration hit the ground running with a flurry of executive orders and regulatory changes, and the pace hasn't slowed since.

"The first year of Trump 2.0 was something of a roller coaster for employers, as rapid-fire policy shifts created persistent volatility for businesses of all shapes and sizes," according to a new report from the Littler Workplace Policy Institute. "From new immigration policies and diversity, equity and inclusion program crackdowns to booming artificial intelligence adoption and state legislative changes, businesses are navigating myriad impacts to their workplaces and workers alike."

The institute surveyed more than 300 in-house lawyers, HR professionals and C-suite executives to assess where employers stand in this dynamic environment. Among the findings:

  • DEI and immigration policies bring far-reaching impact. The majority of employers said DEI (71%) and immigration (65%) policy changes over the past year affected their businesses. This is more than twice the share who selected any of the other workplace policy and regulatory areas surveyed. Three in 10 cited changes in employee health insurance and AI use in the workplace, with 26% selecting wage and hour practices. Immigration policy shifts had more significant implications for respondents from technology, retail and hospitality organizations.
  • Broader uncertainty creates ripple effects. Thirty-five percent of respondents (and 42% of those from large employers) said their organizations have made workforce reductions as a result of regulatory and economic uncertainty, and 30% paused or reduced hiring. However, certain industries, including health care, are seeing stronger hiring rates or even struggling to find the talent they need to fill jobs.
  • Outsized impact of state legislatures. Nearly 9 in 10 employers said their organizations have been affected by legislative changes and new workplace regulations at the state and local levels over the past year. More than half have been affected to a large (17%) or moderate (37%) extent. Of those whose organizations experienced impacts, two-thirds cited paid leave as the area most affected by such changes, followed by pay equity and transparency (51%), data privacy (47%) and AI use in the employment process (41% overall and 57% of large organizations).

Although employers experienced significant workforce actions across several key areas during the first year of the second Trump administration, there was less impact from the activity of prominent federal agencies, including those operating without a quorum. Looking ahead to the administration's second year, the agencies to watch include the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Department of Labor.

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