AI, data privacy overtakes DEI as top concerns for U.S. employers

U.S. employers are recalibrating workforce strategies as they adapt to surging artificial intelligence use and shifting priorities of the Trump administration. New research from the employment and labor law firm Littler finds that issues previously at the top of employers' agendas are taking a backseat to AI and data privacy concerns.
 
Littler's 14th "Annual Employer Survey Report" is based on insights from more than 300 U.S.-based C-suite executives, in-house lawyers, and human resources professionals, and it is intended to highlight the most pressing workplace issues and how executives are navigating them. 

AI is now the leading area in which employers anticipate policy changes, outpacing both immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Most respondents (84%) expect business impacts from policy or regulatory changes relating to AI use in the workplace over the next 12 months — double the percentage who expected them in 2025 (42%). Data privacy regulation rose in tandem, with 53% expecting workplace impacts over the next 12 months, up from 31% in 2025. By contrast, immigration fell to 49% from 75% while DEI dropped to 38% from 84%. 
 
"The shifts in this year's survey relating to immigration and DEI do not mean that these issues have dissipated. Rather, businesses appear to be adjusting to a 'new normal' in the second year of the Trump administration and turning their attention to what's coming next — particularly AI — as the workplace policy and regulatory landscape continues to evolve," James A. Paretti Jr. and Shannon Meade, co-chair and executive director, respectively, of Littler's Workplace Policy Institute®, said in a joint statement.
 
On the immigration front, enforcement remains a significant concern among employers. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) expect enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to impact their workplaces over the next year. Reflecting these risks, many employers report taking steps over the past year to address workforce staffing impacts of immigration policy and enforcement changes. For example, 54% of respondents have prepared for government audits, inspections or site visits, while 40% strengthened employment eligibility verification practices, and 38% adjusted visa sponsorship strategies. 
 
"The rapid pace of change in immigration policy over the past year has created significant challenges for businesses in managing day-to-day operations and staffing," said Jorge R. Lopez, chair of Littler's Immigration and Global Mobility Practice Group.  

AI adoption accelerates

As AI becomes more deeply embedded across workplace functions, employers are beginning to re-evaluate their staffing needs. In light of expected efficiency gains, 37% of respondents say their organizations have reassessed or are reassessing job responsibilities, while 20% report reducing or planning to reduce hiring; 15% say the same about workforce reductions. 
 
That said, advances in AI governance remain uneven. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) report having a formal policy governing AI use in the workplace, which is a substantial increase from 2025, when Littler's survey indicated that 38% had a specific policy. However, only about half of the respondents to this year's survey report having a formal review or approval process for AI tools (55%) or restrictions on the information that can be entered into them (54%). 
 
"AI adoption is moving quickly, but governance is still playing catch-up," said Niloy Ray, co-chair of Littler's AI and Technology Practice Group. "That mismatch could leave employers vulnerable to significant risk, especially given the complexity around compliance. Between an increasingly active patchwork of state laws and unresolved liability questions in light of new federal policy proposals, employers will likely remain on the hook for how these tools are used."