Overview
Diverse workforces can help employers strengthen their ability to connect with clients/customers, attract and keep talent, and drive innovation and productivity, which is why many organizations implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
However, it is vital that employers carefully develop and implement these initiatives and efforts to stay within the confines of constantly changing employment laws and above the scrutiny that may arise from employees, regulators, and others.
Employers turn to Epstein Becker Green, with its 50+ years of employment law experience, for help in creating diverse and inclusive workplaces, mitigating the risk of litigation, and protecting their brand and reputation. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Counseling group, comprised of talented attorneys with diverse experiences and backgrounds, provides counseling, training, and litigation services tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals.
Effective Programs
Epstein Becker Green helps employers in all industries develop and maintain effective DEI programs. We work with clients’ boards of directors and senior executives to institute best practices for a diverse workforce while keeping clients compliant with all applicable laws and regulations—federal, state, and local. Our attorneys take a practical approach, bringing to bear their own experience in both the private and public sectors and their extensive knowledge of employment law.
Analysis and Advice
Employers rely on us to gauge their current DEI posture and to help them institute effective, compliant programs going forward. Our team works with companies to help them best assess the demographics of their company, identifying areas of underrepresented groups, and to audit compliance with existing DEI initiatives. We also work with companies to monitor and examine their workplace culture and climate.
Our full suite of DEI services includes examining clients’ recruiting, retention, and promotion practices, analyzing what’s working and what’s not. We recommend initiatives and improvements, such as mentoring programs, affinity groups, and sponsorship programs. Clients also count on us to conduct pay equity audits, prepare affirmative action plans, perform OFCCP audits, and make updates, as needed, to policies and procedures regarding harassment/discrimination and internal complaints. In addition, we review clients’ performance management, discipline, voluntary separation, and discharge processes and suggest any necessary adjustments.
Workplace Training
Training is essential to an employer’s efforts to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. Many of our clients call on us to conduct trainings for executives, managers, and rank-and-file employees in areas of increasing concern, such as diversity, unconscious bias, and social media practices. We offer individual and group training or a variety of digital and virtual options, each adapted to a client’s needs.
Government Reporting and Compliance
Clients rely on our advice not only to develop DEI goals and programs but also to comply with EEO-1 and state agency reporting requirements. For financial services clients and publicly traded companies, we help them comply with Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, including developing internal policies and practices that identify talented employees, maximize the contributions of all employees, and implement and manage long-term DEI strategy components. For government contractors, we assist them in meeting their VETS-4212 reporting obligations, prepare their affirmative action plans, perform OFCCP audits, and best position themselves to obtain favorable outcomes in connection with any review of their diversity-related activities.
Crisis Management, Communications, and Litigation
Claims against a company involving harassment, discrimination, or diversity-related issues can be devastating to the company’s brand and reputation. Clients confronted with brand- and reputation-threatening claims seek our advice on how to handle the crisis situation. We conduct internal investigations into the claims, recommend remedial action, and help our clients prepare and review appropriate communications to both internal and external audiences.
In addition, we vigorously defend our clients if their DEI practices are challenged before administrative agencies or in court. We also advise on crisis prevention measures and apply lessons learned from litigation to further strengthen our clients’ DEI programs and mitigate future reputational and legal risk.
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Insights
- BlogsVideo: Should Employers Shift Workforce Data Collection Under President Trump? - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Workplace Law Shake-Up - DEI Challenges, NLRB Reversals, and EEOC Actions - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Federal Agencies Begin Compliance Efforts Under Trump Administration - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- Media CoverageGeorge Breen Quoted in “Trump's Anti-DEI Push Poses New FCA Risks for Healthcare”2 minute read
- PublicationsExecutive Order 14173: How Public Companies’ DEI Initiatives May Be Targeted and Key Actions to Take Now13 minute read
- BlogsDEI Dead at Revamped EEOC: EEOC Enforcement Priorities After Trump Administration Makeover11 minute read
- BlogsVideo: How Will Trump’s Federal Changes Impact Employers? - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Employment Law Changes Under President Trump - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- PublicationsDEI and Affirmative Action Programs Blitzed, While Executive Order 11246 Is Revoked10 minute read
- Media CoverageAdam S. Forman Quoted in “AI Guidance About-Face Shouldn't Alter Employers' Approach”2 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Employment Law in 2025: A Look Ahead - Employment Law This Week4 minute read
- Media CoverageSusan Gross Sholinsky Quoted in “DEI Attacks, Hybrid Work, Paid Leave: 2024's Workplace Shifts”1 minute read
- Media CoverageTed Kennedy, Jr., Quoted in "It’s Time to Advance Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession"3 minute read
- Media CoverageDavid Garland Quoted in “GOP Election Wins May Set Stage for Curbing Workplace DEI”2 minute read
- Media CoverageTed Kennedy, Jr., Discusses “Stigma of Disability in Legal Industry Is 'Very Real,' Panel Says”2 minute read
- Media CoverageTed Kennedy, Jr., on Disability Inclusion in the Legal Industry3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: FTC Exits Labor Pact, EEOC Alleges Significant Underrepresentation in Tech, Sixth Circuit Affirms NLRB Ruling ...3 minute read
- Media Coverage
Bradley Merrill Thompson Featured in AHLA’s Speaking of Health Law Podcast, “AI in Health Care: Managing Algorithmic ...
2 minute read - PublicationsSumming Up the FDA's Long-Anticipated Draft Guidance on Diversity Action Plans3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: State Legal Trends - Crucial Changes for Employers - Employment Law This Week4 minute read
- PublicationsInsurers in the Crosshairs Over AI1 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green’s Dedication to DEI Recognized in Bloomberg Law's 2024 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Framework ...
3 minute read - BlogsVideo: Key SCOTUS Decisions This Term for Employers - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: EEO-1 Filing After June 4: What to Do Now, and How to Prepare for Next Year - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- Media CoverageGenevieve Murphy-Bradacs Quoted in “EEOC Criminal History Suit Brings Fresh Focus to Old Policy”3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: SCOTUS Expands Title VII, EEOC’s Final PWFA Rule, AI Screening Tools - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- Media CoverageThe Disability Inclusion Imperative with Ted Kennedy, Jr.1 minute read
- Media Coverage
Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Elected to Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards
3 minute read - BlogsVideo: NLRB Wants Shuttered Starbucks Stores Reopened, Big Tech Retreats from DEI Programs, and Employers Scrap College ...3 minute read
- Media CoverageKimberly Carter Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- Media Coverage
Featured in Los Angeles Sentinel: Attorney Kimberly Carter Joins Epstein Becker Green Law Firm
1 minute read - Media Coverage
Featured in Law360: Employment Attorney Kim Carter Joins Epstein Becker Green
2 minute read - Media CoverageKim Carter Featured in “Wake Up Call: Laterals, Moves, In-House”1 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Bolsters West Coast Presence with Employment Attorney Kimberly Carter3 minute read
- Media CoverageKim Carter Featured in “Epstein Becker Green Adds Employment Attorney as Member in LA”1 minute read
- Media CoverageEpstein Becker Green Featured in “Share of Women Among Partner Promos Continues Growing”3 minute read
- PublicationsWhat GCs Need to Know About Algorithmic Bias3 minute read
- BlogsHow Much Does the EEOC and iTutorGroup Settlement Really Implicate Algorithmic Bias?—Four Notable Points for Employers ...6 minute read
- Media CoverageElizabeth Houghton LaGreca Quoted in “Religious Objections Over Pronouns Test High Court’s New Stance”2 minute read
- Media CoverageEpstein Becker Green Forms Collaboration with Data, Social Scientists for AI Consulting5 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green and Affiliate Consultancy EBG Advisors Expand AI Advisory Capabilities Backed by Nearly 1,000 ...5 minute read
- Media CoverageAnn Knuckles Mahoney Quoted in “US Soccer's Equal Pay Deal Resonates in World Cup Spotlight”3 minute read
- Media CoverageTed Kennedy, Jr., Interviewed in “More People with Disabilities Are Needed in the Boardroom”6 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Again Recognized in Bloomberg Law 2023 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Framework
2 minute read - PublicationsIncreasing Disability Representation on Corporate Boards3 minute read
- Media CoverageEpstein Becker Green Featured in “These Firms Are Top of the Pack for Disability Inclusion”3 minute read
- Media CoverageTed Kennedy, Jr., Discusses Disability Inclusion in “There Are More Disabled Lawyers at Work Than You Think” ...3 minute read
- Publications#WorkforceWednesday: Affirmative Action Takes a Hit, SCOTUS Reinforces Religious Accommodations, NYC Enforces AEDT Law ...3 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Welcomes Labor & Employment Trial Lawyer J.T. Wilson III in Chicago3 minute read
- Media Coverage
Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Elected to Law360’s 2023 Editorial Advisory Boards
2 minute read