Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
WaPo: What Trump's order on 'disparate impact' means for civil rights
WaPo - (archived: https://archive.ph/Lpyka ) What Trump’s order on ‘disparate impact’ means for civil rights
The government will now be without a key tool it used to enforce antidiscrimination laws.
April 24, 2025 at 8:06 p.m. EDT
Today at 8:06 p.m. EDT
By Kim Bellware
President Donald Trump on Wednesday moved to dislodge a cornerstone of modern civil rights law through a sweeping executive order that strips the federal government of the key tool it used to enforce antidiscrimination laws — a concept known as disparate-impact liability.
The order has alarmed civil rights advocates, who warn it could make it harder to shield people from exclusionary policies in areas like housing, employment, education and criminal justice.
“This effort by the administration to remove this tool sets us back decades,” said Jenny Yang, who chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Barack Obama and led the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs under President Joe Biden.
Trump’s order directs federal agencies to “deprioritize enforcement” of statutes and regulations that include disparate-impact liability, which has long enabled courts to stop policies and practices that unfairly exclude people on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, gender and disability. The order also instructs the U.S. attorney general to repeal key components of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bar any program receiving federal financial support from discrimination based on “race, color, or national origin.”
/snip
The government will now be without a key tool it used to enforce antidiscrimination laws.
April 24, 2025 at 8:06 p.m. EDT
Today at 8:06 p.m. EDT
By Kim Bellware
President Donald Trump on Wednesday moved to dislodge a cornerstone of modern civil rights law through a sweeping executive order that strips the federal government of the key tool it used to enforce antidiscrimination laws — a concept known as disparate-impact liability.
The order has alarmed civil rights advocates, who warn it could make it harder to shield people from exclusionary policies in areas like housing, employment, education and criminal justice.
“This effort by the administration to remove this tool sets us back decades,” said Jenny Yang, who chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Barack Obama and led the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs under President Joe Biden.
Trump’s order directs federal agencies to “deprioritize enforcement” of statutes and regulations that include disparate-impact liability, which has long enabled courts to stop policies and practices that unfairly exclude people on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, gender and disability. The order also instructs the U.S. attorney general to repeal key components of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bar any program receiving federal financial support from discrimination based on “race, color, or national origin.”
/snip