On April 23, President Trump signed Executive Order 14281, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, which seeks to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability under civil rights laws.
Disparate impact is a theory under many civil rights laws that can lead to liability when a neutral policy or practice adversely affects members of a protected class.
The E.O. directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to deprioritize enforcement of disparate impact under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The E.O. does not affect Title VII investigations or litigation that does not involve the EEOC.
The order also directs federal agencies to identify for rescission any regulations or guidance that impose disparate impact liability and any pending investigations or cases where disparate impact is at issue.
The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, will hold a Members-only Roundtable, “Trump Administration Seeks to End Disparate Impact Liability,” on Wednesday, May 7, at 3:00 EDT, to discuss the new E.O.
CWC members can read more here.