Compliance has long been among the trickiest aspects of HR’s work, and 2025 proved that it’s a space that is growing increasingly complex. From the influence of social media to the emergence of and lack of regulations around AI and a new federal administration throwing employers some surprising curveballs, HR had its compliance work cut out for it this year.
Here are a few of the stories from this year that paint a picture of the messy compliance landscape:
A viral video and a reflective moment for HR
When former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught on a Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert embracing his HR chief, Kristin Cabot, the personal and the professional collided. And one chief people officer said it was an opportunity for HR to look in the “mirror” and confront the tensions—protecting power or protecting people—so many HR pros face daily.
A new administration
In President Trump’s first weeks back in office, he pledged to reverse course from the previous administration on a range of issues, many of which had immediate implications for employers. From new policies on immigration to rollbacks of AI regulations, the pivots had many HR and compliance professionals racing to catch up.
DEI: to stay the course or not?
Trump sought to take a hard stance against DEI from the start of his term, including executive orders specifically targeting the transgender community and pledges to go after corporate DEI programs. While a number of high-profile companies subsequently announced they were rolling back their DEI work, others committed to maintaining them, with HR in the crosshairs of those decisions.
Emerging regulations for emerging tech
As AI rapidly became a force across most workplaces this year, conversations about its regulation also grew. This summer, the U.S. Senate rejected Trump’s proposed 10-year ban on state-level regulations, while at the same time more than 1,000 bills related to AI are winding their way through state and local legislatures. Meanwhile, HR’s role in building tech strategy in this still-forming regulatory landscape is at the center of Mobley v. Workday, a federal suit in California alleging the HR tech giant’s AI-powered ATS is discriminatory.
Conflict on camera
This fall, a group of employees at Condé Nast confronted the company’s head of HR after layoffs, raising questions about transparency and communication, which grew after the staffers were fired. It was a moment that highlighted, among other issues, HR’s challenge in navigating the influence of social media inside workplaces, particularly amid ongoing fallout from layoffs.
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