HR4448-119

What This Bill Does

The Restoring Equal Opportunity Act seeks to remove disparate-impact liability from major federal civil-rights contexts. It states that U.S. policy should eliminate disparate-impact liability to the maximum degree possible. It amends title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 so no person may bring an employment-practice action or proceeding based on disparate impact, defined as a facially neutral practice that may disproportionately affect protected classes without intentional discrimination. It adds the same prohibition to the Fair Housing Act for housing practices. It also declares that specified presidential approvals of Title VI regulations have no force and effect as applied to certain Department of Justice regulations, including portions of 28 C.F.R. 42.104 addressing criteria or methods of administration that have discriminatory effects. The result would shift federal civil-rights enforcement away from effects-based claims and toward intentional-discrimination theories.

Who Benefits and How

Employers benefit from reduced exposure to title VII disparate-impact claims challenging neutral hiring, testing, promotion, or workplace policies. Housing providers benefit from reduced Fair Housing Act disparate-impact litigation risk over neutral housing practices. Regulated recipients of federal funds benefit from nullification of specified Title VI effects-based regulatory approvals. Defendants in civil-rights litigation benefit from a narrower set of federal theories available to plaintiffs.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Workers in protected classes bear the burden because facially neutral employment practices with disproportionate effects would be harder to challenge. Tenants and homebuyers in protected classes bear the burden because disparate-impact housing claims would be barred. Civil-rights plaintiffs must prove intentional discrimination rather than relying on disproportionate effects. Federal civil-rights agencies lose regulatory and enforcement tools tied to effects-based Title VI and related standards.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits title VII employment-practice claims based on disparate impact.
• Prohibits Fair Housing Act claims based on disparate-impact housing practices.
• Provides a statutory disparate-impact definition for facially neutral practices that lack discriminatory intent but may disproportionately affect protected classes.
• Blocks specified presidential approvals of Department of Justice Title VI regulations addressing discriminatory effects.
• Limits covered federal civil-rights enforcement by shifting claims toward intentional-discrimination theories.