It’s been a busy few weeks for some (many? most?) employers as well as the nation as the new Trump administration has taken over and issued a flood of new Executive Orders, funding freezes, and press statements.

It’s been hard to keep up and that seems to be the point. “Flood the Zone” as one of Trump advisors has said time and again.

I’ve been thinking for a week about writing about it only to see that day’s post seem outdated by the next day. As someone who recently visited the National Gallery of Art, it feels like we are looking at a Seurat picture — lots of dots with no clear connection when you’re up close.

So, rather than chase the headlines, I thought I’d try to take a step back and look at the broader picture. And when you do that from an employment law perspective (and indeed, when you do the same for Seurat’s paintings), it’s a far clearer picture.

Here are five things we know or can surmise to date:

1. Federal employment laws have not changed. Nor have state laws changed. That means that in Connecticut, it remains illegal for an employer to discriminate based on gender identity. This is an important concept to keep in mind; don’t follow the headlines — employers still need to comply with laws or risk lawsuits by employees.
2. But enforcement of certain laws, particularly at the federal level remains very much in flux. Indeed, over the last two weeks, we’ve received a few dismissals of case investigations from the EEOC. Coincidence? Or a pattern? Far too early to tell, but from the public pronouncements, it seems that there will be a new focus on so-called “majority” or in past years, “reverse” discrimination. What do I mean by that? Statements from Acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas suggest a focus on “protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination” versus, say, a focus on protecting others who may not be native to America from national origin discrimination.
3. Major pronouncements at the EEOC and NLRB will be on hold due to a lack of a quorum. Lost in the headlines of President Trump firing various commissioners is the fact that he did not name certain replacements. As a result, much of the actions of these agencies cannot take place due to a lack of a quorum. For the EEOC, the lack of a quorum impacts rulemaking while for the NLRB it means that certain decisions cannot occur. When will these replacements get named? Just a hunch, but I think it’s going to be many months before that becomes a reality.
4. DEI programs will be investigated but beyond that, it’s not quite clear what will pass muster. As I noted previously, DEI programs are being attacked by this administration. Federal contractors will have to certify that they do not have any “illegal” DEI programs and those that certify (and still maintain such a program, perhaps under a different name) may put themselves at risk of a False Claims Act (or Qui Tam) action. Thus, companies will no doubt be reconsidering what programs are safe and what are off limits.
   Already, if you do a keyword search on the Department of Justice’s news website for “diversity”, you get exactly zero selections since the new administration took over. Contrast that to over 1100 “hits” from the news archives prior to January 20, 2025.
   There’s still much uncertainty here. On February 6, 2025, the Attorney General issued an internal memo declaring that the “Civil Rights Division will investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.” And what is the difference between an “illegal” vs. “legal” DEI program? The memo is silent. Nevertheless, companies should conduct an immediate review of their DEI programs — preferably with counsel — to determine their risk and whether any changes need to occur.
5. Finally, the courts are going to play an important role in our checks and balances government. In the Biden administration, cases challenging Biden administration policies and regulations were often brought in Texas or Louisiana to seek favorable judicial assignments. Now the tables have turned and we’ve seen judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts block certain actions taken by the executive branch. Keep an eye on whether the Trump administration abides by court orders or tries to circumvent them.

In the meantime, employers who rely on federal grants for funding have been caught in the crosshairs and layoffs at many are either happening now or are imminent. Employers in this situation should be mindful of the WARN Act to provide notice to employees and may consider other options than layoffs such as the CTDOL’s Shared Work program.