Final answer:
Disparate impact refers to policies that are neutral on their face and uniformly applied but disproportionately affect a group based on characteristics like race or religion, which is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Employers must justify such policies with business necessity to comply with EEOC regulations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Disparate Impact
Disparate impact occurs when a policy or practice that appears neutral and is applied uniformly to all applicants has a disproportionate impact on a certain group based on prohibited characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In the context of employment, a well-known example of disparate impact is requiring a diploma for a job that does not necessarily need that level of education, which could disproportionately exclude certain minorities who have less access to higher education due to socioeconomic factors.
The United States enforces laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to prevent discrimination in various aspects of employment, indicating that any employment practice must be justified by business necessity. If a plaintiff demonstrates that a practice has a disparate impact on a protected group, the employer must then show that the practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity. It's also important to consider when different outcomes may be a result of discrimination or other factors, like personal choices or historical inequities.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers federal anti-discrimination laws, striving to eliminate unlawful disparate treatment in hiring and other employment practices. Employers are encouraged to review their employment policies to ensure they do not create a disparate impact and to make changes if necessary to comply with anti-discrimination laws.