Do you know the difference Between Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact?
The law recognizes two types of illegal discrimination. Disparate treatment
refers to intentional discrimination, where people in a protected class are
deliberately treated differently. This is the most common type of
discrimination. An example of this would be an employer giving a certain test to
applicants with disabilities but not to applicants without disabilities.
Disparate impact refers to discrimination that is unintentional. This can
involve making a service available to everyone regardless of disability
status, but individuals in a protected class, like disability, are
negatively affected. For instance, a college makes available pre-recorded
video study courses online but the videos lack closed captioning making it
impossible for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to access and benefit
from the online study courses.
Join us as we review latest developments relating to these types of claims under the ADA. We will review the analytical standards and discuss current legal actions relating to Disparate Impact all the way to the latest Appeals Courts decisions and a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the question of whether disparate impact claims exist under §504 of the Rehabilitation Act. We will also discuss why certain advocacy groups are sounding an alarm that our current Supreme Court could decide the fate of Disparate Impact claims under the ADA and 504.