On April 23, President Trump issued an executive order that aims to end the legal standard that stops actions from having unfair impacts on certain groups of people based on race, gender, age, and other protected characteristics. The EO revokes presidential approvals of decades-old federal policies under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The disparate impact standard in civil rights law is key to preventing otherwise “race-blind” policies and practices from perpetuating discrimination, segregation, and racial inequity in the workplace, in schools, or from the government. This is based on finding evidence that a particular group of people are being disproportionately harmed based on the outcomes of an action, rather than on the explicit intent to discriminate against the group. Ending disparate impact liability is also a policy priority highlighted by the right-wing policy agenda Project 2025. 

While this EO is not able to change the law to end the disparate impact liability standard on its own, if this EO stands, it would fundamentally harm our guarantee to be protected against discrimination in public life and make it much easier for employers, corporations, local governments, and more to discriminate as long as they avoid using explicit language stating their intent to do so.  

Project 2025 references: p. 335, 583