Employer Cutbacks to Worker Diversity Groups Pose Legal Risks

A growing list of companies are restructuring employee resource groups as they scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, raising legal risks for employers responding to public pressure from conservative backlash.

Decisions to preserve or curtail employee resource groups and other DEI programs could provide fodder for discrimination claims—from workers in traditionally marginalized groups, as well as White or male employees.

It’s the latest challenge employers must navigate in a heated landscape fueled by anti-DEI social media campaigns on one side and momentum from protests over racial inequality on the other.

“Companies have to be and should be looking at ...