STATEMENT: Trump’s Attack on Disparate Impact Standard Undermines Fundamental Civil Rights Protections

April 24. 2025

For Immediate Release
Apr 24, 2025

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Statement by Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates, which fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country

April 24, 2025 – President Trump’s executive order instructing agencies to stop enforcing civil rights laws to challenge policies or practices that have a disparate impact on protected groups is a direct assault on a critical tool combating discrimination in employment, housing and other contexts. In refusing to enforce rights where a policy has a discriminatory disparate impact, the Trump Administration undermines the goals of federal civil rights laws and threatens a century of progress toward equality.

Disparate impact theory is most used in employment discrimination cases, particularly under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It’s also applied in housing discrimination cases (Fair Housing Act) and age discrimination cases (Age Discrimination in Employment Act). The theory focuses on practices that appear neutral but have a disproportionately adverse impact on a protected group, even without intent to discriminate. 

Civil rights liability based on disparate impact is not a policy preference that can be eliminated by executive order. This basis for liability has been well-established in regulation, by statute, and through numerous Supreme Court rulings dating back to 1971. More than 20 federal funding agencies have Civil Rights Act Title VI regulations addressing disparate impact discrimination; the Civil Rights Act of 1991 explicitly authorizes disparate impact claims under Title VII; and the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld this critical legal framework.

This executive order is the latest in a coordinated series of attacks on civil rights protections, following the gutting of the Department of Education, assaults on DEI programs, and restrictions on gender identity recognition. This administration has made it clear that its priority is dismantling the systems designed to create equal opportunity for all Americans.

Contrary to the false rhetoric of the Executive Order, disparate impact analysis enhances merit-based decision-making by requiring a legitimate justification for policies with disproportionate impacts on protected groups. These cases have removed unlawful barriers to entry and advancement, like job tests and requirements unrelated to job performance. As a result of this kind of enforcement action in the past, professions in fire and police departments, for example, are no longer closed to women.   

The real-world consequences of this order will be immediate and severe for students, workers, and families. In refusing to enforce civil rights laws where disparate impact is evident, the Administration is giving a green light to practices that disproportionately push students of color out of classrooms, biased lending and rental policies perpetuating racial segregation in housing, and hiring and promotion policies creating inequities in the workplace.

On behalf of the millions of workers and students we serve, Equal Rights Advocates stands strong against any and all executive orders taking aim at civil rights enforcement in this country.  We call on Congress to reaffirm this core civil rights protection and align with partners intent on fighting this unlawful action with every legal and advocacy tool at our disposal.

To request an interview with ERA experts, contact Nazirah Ahmad at [email protected] or (704) 290-6869.

Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, they have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.