The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 was an inflection point, not only for racial inequality in the US, but for DEI programs. Companies had already been working to diversify the workforce for decades, but for many, this accelerated the movement.

As the popularity of DEI programming soared within US companies (many DEI positions in HR became open), so did opposition. Detractors claimed diversity initiatives were unfair to the majority and politicized the work, turning it into a dog whistle during the 2024 presidential election, when Trump and his supporters called for companies to eliminate all “illegal DEI” practices—and despite executive orders that have been issued since, the legal frameworks haven’t changed much.

Since then, at least 70 big-name companies have rolled back or drastically changed the language associated with their DEI programs, while others anticipate changes in the future. Meanwhile, DEI practitioners have grappled with job losses, questions about their function, and personal attacks amid a barrage of misinformation.

Still, the DEI leaders who spoke with HR Brew remain hopeful for progress, even if it looks different.

For more on the past, present, and future of DEI, keep reading here.—KP

Staffbase this week announced a move to transform the employee communications platform into one that leverages agentic AI to build on the concept of engagement to upend the employee experience, allowing employees and employers to communicate in new and more accessible ways.

David Maffei, SVP and GM at Staffbase, told HR Brew that the company’s new Employee AI foundation will help customers on the platform facilitate an enhanced way to deliver content with which employees can interact. How does a personalized weekly podcast sound?

“Communications, as a staple or a backbone, has been what Staffbase for 10 years has been built on, but just like everything else, there’s this evolution upon us in this business,” Maffei said. “There’s an evolution upon what’s happening in technology and what employees expect from communications.”

The company intranet, Maffei contends, is set to radically change its value to employees and businesses with faster resolutions for critical employment- and company-related questions and AI-powered tools that interact with the organization quickly through a single interface.

For more on Staffbase’s approach to internal comms, keep reading here.—AD

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced its intention to roll back a number of Biden-era policies in a recently published regulatory agenda.

Among the policies that the DOL is set to revisit are a 2024 rule for determining workers’ independent contractor status, regulations for determining joint-employer liability, and protections for nonimmigrant workers in the agricultural sector.

“This regulatory agenda reflects our steadfast commitment to restoring economic opportunity by fostering innovation and reducing unnecessary burdens on employers,” Keith Sonderling, deputy secretary of labor, said in a statement.

Here are three areas to keep an eye on as the DOL carries out its agenda.

For more on the DOL’s regulatory agenda, keep reading here.—CV

More focus, less fluff. CollabWORK filters out the noise and delivers jobs that actually match what HR Brew readers are looking for. Click here to see the full board of curated roles.

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