DOJ civil rights protection authority gutted

WASHINGTON — This week the current administration continued dismantling bedrock civil rights and environmental justice protections as it issued a final rule, without public comment, rescinding U.S. Department of Justice disparate impact rules.  

A disparate impact occurs when a policy or action causes a disproportionate and unjustified harm to a group, regardless of intentionality. For decades, regulations under Tite VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 worked to protect communities from disparate impacts that are the outcome of everything from the high concentration of highways built through Black communities to higher levels of air pollution communities of color face because of siting practices.  

Chandra Taylor-Sawyer, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, released this statement. 

“This week’s civil rights rollback at DOJ strikes a blow to the core of protections to all Americans, including the most vulnerable. Recognizing discriminatory impact requires entities from large corporations and utilities to small localities to analyze the effect of their actions on the environment and people. Rescinding these regulations will make it easier for discrimination to go unchecked. The Civil Rights Division at DOJ, and offices of civil rights across agencies, have an obligation to enforce our civil rights laws and rules to ensure a functioning democracy for all of us.”