On April 23, President Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies, including the EEOC, not to rely on disparate impact theory when enforcing federal civil rights laws.
In other words, the executive order says that just because a company policy ends up having a negative effect on a protected class, like age, race or sex, that alone isn’t enough for the government to say it’s discriminatory. According to this new order, unless there’s clear proof that the policy was meant to treat people unfairly, agencies like the EEOC shouldn’t take legal action based on those outcomes alone.
However, that stance doesn’t align with some established legal principles. So let’s take a closer look at:
Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy reiterates the Trump administration’s preference for merit-based initiatives over DEI initiatives and calls disparate-impact liability “a key tool” of the DEI movement.
According to the executive order, disparate-impact liability “runs contrary to equal protection under the law and, therefore, violates our Constitution.”
A White House Fact Sheet explains that the order:
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