Executive Order 14281 bars EEOC from disparate impact enforcement

President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14281, titled "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy," on 2025-04-23, directing federal agencies "to eliminate the use of disparate impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible" (Questions 1, 15, 20).

Disparate impact liability under Title VII remains available for individual and class claims; EO 14281 alters federal enforcement priorities but does not repeal the underlying statute passed by Congress (Question 2).

Disparate impact theory prohibits practices with statistically adverse effects on protected groups regardless of intent, whereas disparate treatment requires proof of intentional discrimination (Question 3).

The Supreme Court first recognized disparate impact theory in Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971), and Congress codified disparate impact liability in the 1991 amendments to Title VII (Question 4, 8).

Disparate impact liability also applies under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (Question 9).

EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas requested sex and race data for applicants and employees from 20 major law firms to investigate potential DEI violations (Questions 5, 12).

Section 707(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorizes the EEOC to sue employers for pattern or practice discrimination—a power unaffected by EO 14281 (Question 16).

Under the three-step disparate impact framework, once a plaintiff shows a discriminatory effect, an employer must prove each practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity; a plaintiff can still prevail by identifying a less discriminatory but equally effective alternative (Questions 7, 19).