Ranking Member Scott Statement Condemns Trump Administration Plan to Stop Investigating Workplace Discrimination Claims

Ranking Member Scott Statement Condemns Trump Administration Plan to Stop Investigating Workplace Discrimination Claims

WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after it was reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) would end investigations where an employee alleges solely disparate impact workplace discrimination charges, pursuant to an Executive Order issued by President Trump.

"Every worker deserves fair treatment on the job. However, prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outright discrimination was permissible. It was not uncommon to see employment signs that made clear that Blacks, Jews, women, or others need not apply.

"When the public found such overt practices of discrimination distasteful, Congress stepped in to ban discrimination in employment on the basis of a protected class by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act went further to explicitly address instances when a seemingly neutral policy or action causes disproportionate and unjustified negative harm to a group, regardless of intent. This is called a disparate impact analysis.

"Because discriminatory intent is rarely explicitly stated, identifying potential cases of discrimination by their impact - rather than just their motive - is critical to enforcing civil rights protections. In sum, disparate impact is when a policy or practice appears to be neutral but has a disproportionate impact on a protected group.

"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has used disparate impact to examine if and how employers' policies or practices have an impact on protected groups. It is therefore shocking that the premier agency - created by statute to combat workplace discrimination - would abdicate its responsibility and purpose by dispensing the disparate analysis tool.

"If the EEOC will no longer assess an employee's sole disparate impact charge, then it would mean that the EEOC will only review charges of discrimination where the intent to discriminate is clearly stated. This is a gross departure from the disparate impact provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and how discrimination operates in the workplace and society at large.

"In 1971, the Supreme Court examined the issue of disparate impact analysis in the Griggs v. Duke Power. The Court found that the company's high school diploma requirement for a janitorial job resulted in only white applicants being hired. Specifically, the Court found that it was pretextual to require a high school diploma when it was not relevant to the duties and responsibilities of a janitorial job. It did, however, have the effect of reducing African Americans from the applicant pool as they were less likely to have a high school diploma.

"The Supreme Court upheld Title VII's disparate impact law in the Griggs decision by finding that '[w]hat is required by Congress is the removal of artificial, arbitrary, and unnecessary barriers to employment when the barriers operate invidiously to discriminate on the basis of racial or other impermissible classification.' The Court also stated in the Griggs decision that '[t]he Act proscribes not only overt discrimination but also practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in operation.'

"The Trump Administration's reported plan to close the charges where employees solely raise disparate impact claims is a grave disservice to workers, and continues a disturbing pattern of misinterpreting the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Furthermore, it blatantly disregards the laws designed to protect workers from discrimination and upends the precedent of the Griggs decision.

"By closing these disparate impact discrimination charges, the Trump Administration is abandoning one of the most effective tools for rooting out and correcting entrenched bias and discrimination. This reported decision forces workers to defend their rights alone and undermines decades of progress where the federal government served as a guardian and defender of equality in the workplace."

Background: On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued the executive order entitled "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy." To see how this action is part of President Trump's agenda to benefit billionaires and corporations at the expense of workers, read page 583 of Project 2025 here.

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