DEI Under a Microscope – Update on EEOC Enforcement Trends and the Evolving Legal Landscape

Alissa A. Horvitz, Member Attorney & Co-founder | Roffman Horvitz, PLC

Alissa A. Horvitz is a Member Attorney and co-founder of Roffman Horvitz, PLC, a firm that provides employers with one-stop human resources and regulatory compliance counsel, distinguished by advanced capabilities in employment data analytics. With more than 35 years of experience advising employers, Alissa serves as the firm’s lead or co-lead attorney across a wide range of practice areas, including federal contractor EEO and affirmative action plans, statistical analysis of hiring, promotion, and termination decisions, privileged audits of DEI programs, I-9/E-Verify compliance, exempt/non-exempt classification, the use of artificial intelligence in employment, and reductions in force under the WARN Act and OWBPA.

• Education & Credentials

Alissa earned her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 1990 and her B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) in 1987. She is admitted to practice in Maryland (1990), the District of Columbia (1991), and Virginia (2017).

• Recognition & Leadership

As a co-founder and Member Attorney of Roffman Horvitz, Alissa has helped build a firm recognized for its unique expertise in employment data analytics and federal contractor compliance. She serves as the firm’s lead or co-lead attorney in its core practice areas, reflecting her standing as an authority on affirmative action, DEI program audits, False Claims Act defense, and the emerging area of AI in employment.

• Professional Involvement

Alissa particularly enjoys educating the employer community, regularly conducting live and web-based training on employment topics such as lawful inclusion and training programs, applicant tracking, and regulatory compliance. Through the firm’s webinars, client updates, and events, she is a consistent voice keeping employers informed on developments in EEO, affirmative action, and human resources compliance.

• Experience

Over more than three decades, Alissa has developed deep experience advising clients on inclusion and diversity programs, federal contractor employment regulations, and the analysis of employment data, giving her a thorough understanding of the full range of human resources issues and how they affect businesses and organizations. She counsels employers on EEO and affirmative action plan development, statistical analyses of hire, promotion, and termination decisions, privileged DEI program audits, unlawful DEI and False Claims Act defense, I-9 and E-Verify compliance, wage-and-hour classification, the use of AI in employment decisions, EEO and inclusion training, employment manuals and workplace policies, and reductions in force. Her work provides employers an affordable outside-counsel option combining practical HR guidance with sophisticated data-analytics capabilities.

Joshua S. Roffman, Managing Attorney and Co-Founder | Roffman Horvitz, PLC

Joshua S. Roffman is the Managing Attorney and co-founder of Roffman Horvitz, PLC, a firm that advises employers on a broad array of human resources compliance matters with distinctive in-house capabilities in employment data analytics. With more than 20 years of experience advising employers, Josh serves as the firm’s lead or co-lead attorney across key practice areas, including federal contractor EEO and affirmative action plans, statistical analysis of hiring, promotion, and termination decisions, pay equity analyses, unlawful DEI and False Claims Act defense, I-9/E-Verify compliance, exempt/non-exempt classification, the use of artificial intelligence in employment, and reductions in force under the WARN Act and OWBPA.

• Education & Credentials

Josh earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2002 and his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1996. He is admitted to practice in Virginia (2002) and the District of Columbia (2004).

• Recognition & Leadership

As Managing Attorney and co-founder of Roffman Horvitz, Josh leads a firm recognized for its unique blend of employment law and statistical analytics. He serves as the firm’s lead or co-lead attorney in its core practice areas—from federal contractor compliance to pay equity and AI in employment—and brings a rare combination of legal, statistical, and business acumen to the counsel he provides.

• Professional Involvement

Josh’s practice reflects deep engagement with the evolving landscape of pay equity and workplace regulation, including emerging frameworks such as the EU Pay Transparency Directive and Canadian pay equity plans. Through the firm’s webinars, client updates, and events, he helps keep the employer community informed on developments in compensation analysis, federal contractor obligations, and human resources compliance.

• Experience

Josh has deep experience advising clients on pay equity, inclusion and diversity programs, federal contractor employment regulations, and the analysis of employment data, giving him a thorough understanding of the full range of human resources issues and how they affect businesses and organizations. He combines his command of employment law, statistics, and business operations to develop regressions and other statistical analyses of employment practices—including compensation—tailored to each client’s specific goals and circumstances. Working closely with clients to determine how best to structure the analyses, Josh and the firm run these studies in-house, providing employers an affordable outside-counsel option that pairs practical compliance guidance with sophisticated data-analytics capabilities.

SESSION 1 – The EEOC’s DEI Enforcement Plan: Eight Target Practices Versus Actual Case Selection | 2:30pm – 2:45pm

This session compares the EEOC’s 2026 National Enforcement Plan with the Biden-era Strategic Enforcement Plan, focusing on how the agency’s priorities, investigative approach, and authority to self-initiate DEI investigations have changed.

SESSION 2 – DEI Initiatives Facing Litigation | 2:45pm – 3:00pm

This session examines which types of DEI initiatives have already generated litigation and which remain enforcement priorities without resulting in filed cases, helping employers distinguish established litigation risks from emerging areas of concern.

SESSION 3 – DEI Practices Triggering EEOC Action | 3:00pm – 3:15pm

This session identifies the specific DEI programs, policies, compensation structures, and workplace practices that have prompted EEOC commissioner charges, subpoenas, or lawsuits through mid-2026.

SESSION 4 – Commissioner Charges and DEI Enforcement | 3:15pm – 3:30pm

This session explains how the EEOC’s commissioner-charge mechanism works and examines how it has been used to initiate or advance enforcement actions involving employer DEI practices.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 5 – The Limits of EEOC Authority | 3:40pm – 4:00pm

This session examines the NYT countersuit and Nike subpoena enforcement action to assess what these disputes reveal about the scope and limits of the EEOC’s enforcement authority under the 2026 NEP.

SESSION 6 – Federal Pressure on Employer DEI Programs | 4:00pm – 4:20pm

This session explores the enforcement, investigative, and regulatory strategies used by the EEOC, DOJ, and Trump Administration to challenge, discourage, or influence employer DEI programs and policies.

SESSION 7 – Supreme Court Impact on DEI Cases | 4:20pm – 4:40pm

This session examines how Ames v. Ohio and Muldrow v. City of St. Louis may affect DEI-related discrimination claims, including the standards employers and counsel should consider when evaluating potential litigation.