New EO doesn’t trump existing disparate-impact discrimination law

On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” an Executive Order (EO) that declares disparate-impact considerations to be incompatible with principles of merit-based decision-making and “equality of opportunity,” as well as directs federal agencies to no longer prioritize enforcement of disparate-impact statutes and regulations.

This move might surprise some people, but given the pattern of EOs issued by Trump, it’s not really unexpected. He has issued several EOs since his inauguration mentioning and highlighting merit-based opportunity, including his diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) order (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”). Now that he has signed this most recent EO, it’s imperative that private employers across the country—regardless of whether they’re government contractors—understand the order doesn’t change the law surrounding disparate-impact discrimination.

What the EO says

In disparate-impact discrimination cases, employees claim that although a policy seems fair or neutral on its face, it disproportionately affects one or more protected groups when applied. For example, assume a police department adopts a height requirement for police officers. This policy may disproportionately affect women.