‘Incoherent’ | UK firms that axe DEI face heightened legal risks, ELA warns

UK businesses that follow moves by US employers to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes would face a heightened risk of legal action, a top employment law association has warned.

An open letter from the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) described rollbacks to DEI measures in the US as “chilling,” and examined what similar actions by British businesses could mean in the context of sexual harassment or discrimination cases.

Numerous high-profile organisations in the US have scrapped diversity hiring targets and dismantled (or rebranded) DEI departments in recent months, including Google, Meta, Disney, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Walmart, Paramount, Ford, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Harley-Davidson, and Victoria’s Secret.

Some employers – including Meta and Google – have indicated that decisions to eliminate diversity programmes were made to more closely align with a shifting political and regulatory landscape surrounding DEI in the US.