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The next four years could be tough for DE&I programs. The incoming Trump administration has signaled it will try to limit corporate DE&I, and the Dismantle DE&I Act is making its way through Congress.
The courts could significantly impact DE&I as well, according to David Glasgow, a lawyer and executive director of the Meltzer Center on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.
“One of the things I’m most concerned about is just that there is no doubt that his [Trump’s] administration is going to keep appointing conservative judges, which will shape the law in a more conservative direction over the years ahead,” he told HR Brew, noting that conservatives already rule the Supreme Court and any new appointees will “share their antipathy towards DE&I.” He believes this will happen in the lower courts as well.
Judges are already impacting on DE&I strategies and laws, and Glasgow expects that will accelerate. In March, for example, a panel of judges with the 11th circuit court struck down part of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which tried to limit diversity trainings at private companies. And in September, a federal judge appointed by former President George W. Bush decided that the Department of Transportation would have to suspend part of its minority contractor program, the Washington Post reported.
“The other thing that I’m concerned about is the weaponization of government agencies against organizations that engage in DE&I,” Glasgow said. Trump has already indicated that he will direct the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to go after employers engaging in diversity programs that he and other conservatives believe are illegal.
“I’m worried that that is going to create a climate of fear and a chilling effect on some organizations that perhaps don’t have an army of lawyers to defend them, or the sophistication to make adjustments to their programs.”