DOJ Memo Finds EEOC’s Unintentional Bias Guidance Illegal (3)

The US Department of Justice has deemed EEOC guidance endorsing unintentional discrimination theory unconstitutional in a new memo, bolstering the commission’s recent abandonment of disparate impact enforcement.

The memo released Tuesday evaluated the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s enforcement guidelines under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as they pertain to disparate impact.

Disparate impact theory states facially neutral employment policies can be illegal if they have a discriminatory effect on a protected class. The EEOC already ended the use of the theory in its work after an executive order from President Donald Trump instructed the agency and DOJ ...