1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

This executive order wants to eliminate disparate impact liability. Disparate impact is a legal tool used to address systemic discrimination in areas like housing, jobs, and lending. It allows claims when policies disproportionately harm protected groups like racial minorities, even without outright discriminatory intent. Removing this would severely weaken civil rights protections and the promise of equal opportunity. Promoting true equality requires proactive efforts to dismantle longstanding barriers and inequities that disadvantage certain groups. Disparate impact doctrine identifies and addresses unfair practices that perpetuate societal disadvantages. An intent-only standard ignores that discrimination often occurs through policies that appear neutral but have exclusionary impacts. This order endorses an approach that enables discrimination as long as it's unintentional. Promoting genuine merit-based opportunity means leveling the playing field, not removing accountability for unjustified disparities. Equal protection means substantive equity, not just theoretical "colorblindness." Abandoning disparate impact analysis would allow policies with disparate racial impacts without realistic recourse. We cannot uphold justice and equal opportunity by greenlighting policies that disproportionately harm racial groups. This order should be rescinded to preserve progress toward real equality under law.