Question

What is meant by disparate treatment? What is meant by disparate impact? What is the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact? How can a claim of disparate impact be demonstrated?

Please list reference.

Answer 1

Intentioanl discrimination is disparate treatment Whereas unintentioanl discrimination is disparate impact.

In other words when employer disccriminate on bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin INTENTIONALLY then it is termed as Disparate treatment. On the other hand if such discrimination is done UNINTENTIONALLY then it is Disparate impact.

When an organization's policies, rules, guidelines, practices and procedures are unbiased but somehow end up in discrimination on any basis then it is disparat impact. For example during employee appraisal all male employees get 5% more upgrade in salary than all female employees of the same level despite not having such policy.

When an organization's policcy,rule, procedure, practice or guidelines are set up intentionally in such a manner that it causes discrimination or favourism or biasness then it is disparate treatment. For example, If only White Americans are required to take selection test for specific post.

A disparate impact claim can be made using the statistics of such biasness as evidence.