The Most Important Thing to Remember in the Next 4 Years
There are a lot of thinkpieces circulating from diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) professionals about the future of inclusive, equitable, and accessible organizations.
“Is DEI dead?” “Are we in a post-DEI world?” (Yes! No! Rename it!)
But at Imprint Legal Group, we are lawyers in addition to being DEIJ professionals. We look at compliance and culture.
And there’s one thing we want all leaders to remember over the next four years:
Political headlines are not legal obligations.
Lawsuits are not legal obligations.
Press releases are not legal obligations.
Please talk to a lawyer before you read a headline and start thinking about changing your organizational policies, HR practices, or training requirements.
For example, several states filed lawsuits in 2024 that challenged the 2024 Title IX regulations, particularly the protections for LGBTQIA+ students. While the lawsuit was working its way through the courts, several states’ Departments of Education issued “alerts” or press releases informing schools that they should not provide protections to LGBTQIA+ students.
These “alerts” looked official and quite scary, which is what they were designed to do. When your state’s Attorney General issues a legal directive on official letterhead, most leaders assume that’s law.
It’s not.
If schools had listened to those press releases and headlines, they would have been in violation of federal law and risked the loss of federal funding.
At the time of these press releases, the lawsuit was still working its way through the courts, and any attorney worth their salt would have advised clients to continue abiding by the 2024 Title IX regulations until there was a judge’s order with jurisdiction over their school.
Even in January 2025, after the Title IX lawsuit was adjudicated and the OCR acknowledged the 2024 Title IX regulations were effectively dead, there are still states that are mandated under different courts’ jurisdictions to provide LGBTQIA+ students protection under Title IX.
Similar “freak out” moments and knee-jerk reactions occurred at workplaces after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in higher education in SFFA v. Harvard University - even though the ruling had nothing to do with workplaces, supply chains, or investments.
We received a rash of calls after headlines about shutting down the federal Department of Education - even though nothing legal has been accomplished or proposed, even in the slew of executive orders issued and headlines generated.
Relying on headlines instead of a civil rights lawyer’s analysis would be an epic mistake that jeopardizes hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The legal landscape is more complex than ever. We have a new standard for legal deference under Loper, which is changing the way courts have interpreted agency actions for forty years.
We know politicians are prone to releasing executive orders, press releases, and newsletters that can be inflammatory. We know the press is prone to sensationalizing headlines and generating click bait.
If we’re going to keep our organizations both legally compliant and culturally inclusive over the next four years, the most important thing to remember:
Read the headline.
Take a breath.
Email hello@imprintlegalgroup.com and ask “What does this really mean for me?”
Imprint Legal Group advises schools and businesses on legal compliance and inclusive cultures. To discuss any questions about your particular situation or training opportunities, contact: hello@imprintlegalgroup.com.
All posts of Imprint Legal Group and its authors are intended as information, not legal advice. This information is valid as of January 21, 2025.
