Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1971 ruled in the landmark case, Griggs v. Duke Power Co., that although an employment test may be racially neutral on its face, it is nevertheless discriminatory if it negatively impacts black employees.
The “disparate impact” doctrine applied to laws and policies for 40 years.
Duke Power required employees to take an aptitude test. Whites passed at higher rates than blacks, so the test was deemed discriminatory. Federal civil rights law bars overt discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, or national original. The high court expanded the standard, however, to include so-called disparate impact discrimination. Though the aptitude test wasn’t overtly discriminatory, the Supreme Court contended, the test was unlawful because of the disparate impact it had on blacks.
The case effectively ended all employment tests across the country.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Representative Brandon Gill of Texas plan to introduce the Restoring Equal Opportunity Act on Thursday. The bill would bar disparate impact claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and codify President Donald Trump’s executive order barring disparate impact.
“Disparate-impact liability is a legal theory holding that differences in outcomes among races, sexes, or similar groups indicate unlawful discrimination, even without discriminatory intent or policies,” reads the executive order fact sheet, “but the theory violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment for all by requiring race-oriented policies and practices to rebalance outcomes along racial lines.”
The Center for Urban Renewal and Education endorses the House and Senate versions of this bill.
Photo credit: By City Dweller 2 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, link
