{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2025/7/lee-bill-bans-disparate-impact-from-civil-rights-law", "Lee Bill Bans Disparate Impact from Civil Rights Law", "2025-07-17", "2025", "2025-07", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "Mike Lee", "L000577", "www.lee.senate.gov", "mikelee", "https://www.lee.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Codifies President Trump\u2019s Civil Rights Reforms\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Restoring Equal Opportunity Act today to codify President Trump\u2019s Executive Order prohibiting the use of disparate impact policies that incentivize racial hiring quotas. U.S. Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX) is the legislation\u2019s co-lead in the House of Representatives.\n\n\u201cDisparate impact has undermined equal opportunity in hiring for generations,\u201d said Senator Mike Lee. \u201cThese policies are antithetical to the Constitution, keeping hardworking men and women from the jobs they deserve. It\u2019s un-American, and it\u2019s going to stop. The Restoring Equal Opportunity Act will prohibit this woke practice and support President Trump\u2019s fight for equality under the law.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmericans deserve equal opportunity, not race-based quotas,\u201d said Rep. Gill. \u201cEquality under the law is a core American principle, ensuring every citizen\u2019s right to equal protection and due process. I\u2019m proud to introduce the Restoring Equal Opportunity Act alongside Senator Lee to bring merit, rather than DEI, back to our hiring and selection processes.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, or national origin. The purpose of this prohibition is clear: to prevent clear and overt instances of discrimination by prohibiting employers from engaging in the kinds of discriminatory practices that had become commonplace during the Jim Crow era.\n\nIn the 1971 case of Griggs v. Duke Power Company, the Supreme Court expanded this standard by ruling that in addition to overt discrimination, Title VII also prohibited any employment practices that have a \u201cdisparate impact\u201d on minorities. The Court alleged that though Duke Power Company\u2019s policies were not intentionally discriminatory, they could not implement job requirements that have a disparate impact on minorities and are judged to have no relation to job performance.\n\nThis unfair standard practically requires employers to impose racial quotas to avoid potential legal liability. Disparate impact prevents employers from making hiring decisions based solely on qualification and skill and requires them to engage in behavior that goes against the spirit and the letter of the Constitution. Congress codified the disparate impact standard into law via the 1991 Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act, and disparate impact theory has since become the de facto method of determining discrimination.\n\nOn April 23rd, President Trump issued an executive order to end usage of the disparate impact standard in all areas of the United States government. President Trump\u2019s executive order is a much-needed correction, and Senator Lee\u2019s Restoring Equal Opportunity Act would permanently put an end to disparate impact and fully restore equal opportunity under the law.\n\nThe Restoring Equal Opportunity Act:\n\nProhibits any disparate impact claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or the Fair Housing Act.\n\nCodifies President Trump\u2019s \u201cRestoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy\u201d executive order.\n\nRead exclusive coverage from The Daily Caller here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:40:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2025/7/lee-bill-bans-disparate-impact-from-civil-rights-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9367510210722685, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}