USDOT Rescinds ‘Disparate Impact’ Civil Rights Regulation
Article 0 Comments The U.S. Transportation Department said Wednesday it is rescinding part of its long-standing civil rights regulations that prohibit conduct that has an unintended “disparate” impact. In April 2025, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies not to enforce laws that prohibit policies and practices with discriminatory impacts that are often unintended. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the department is making clear its regulations “prohibit only intentional discrimination, not conduct or activities that have a disparate impact,” and added USDOT will not take action on disparate-impact liability. Curbing so-called disparate impact liability, which is common in employment-related cases, removes a tool the government has used for decades to also police discrimination in housing, education, lending and other areas. Federal Discrimination Laws Date to Civil War On June 9, the Justice Department said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s legal guidance to deter disparate impacts on protected groups of workers is wrong because it focuses solely on outcomes with no regard for an employer’s intent. Numerous federal laws, some dating back to the years after the Civil War, prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, religion and other protected traits. Courts long understood discrimination to be an intentional act, but that...