Disparate impact and disparate treatment refer to discriminatory employment practices. The distinction between these two types of discriminatory practices often focuses on the employer’s intent.

Disparate impact is often referred to as unintentional discrimination and disparate treatment is often referred to as intentional discrimination. The terms adverse impact and adverse treatment are sometimes used in place of disparate impact and disparate treatment.

Disparate impact occurs when policies, practices, rules, or other processes that appear to be neutral result in a disproportionate impact on a protected group of persons.

For example, testing all applicants and using results from that test that will unintentionally eliminate certain minority applicants disproportionately is disparate impact. And testing a particular skill of only certain minority applicants is disparate treatment.

Federal laws prohibit job discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, religion, age, military status, equal pay, pregnancy, disability, or genetic information and prohibit both disparate treatment and disparate impact discrimination.


In Maine, employment discrimination laws encompass both disparate impact and disparate treatment, aligning with federal regulations. Disparate impact refers to neutral employment practices that inadvertently lead to a disproportionate adverse effect on members of a protected class, such as a standardized test that disproportionately disqualifies minority candidates. Disparate treatment, on the other hand, involves intentional discrimination, where an employer deliberately treats applicants or employees differently based on their protected characteristics, like selectively testing skills of only minority applicants. Both types of discrimination are prohibited under federal laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These laws protect against discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, age, military status, and other protected characteristics. Maine state law also prohibits employment discrimination and is enforced by the Maine Human Rights Commission, which operates under the Maine Human Rights Act. This state act mirrors federal protections and provides avenues for individuals to file complaints if they believe they have been subjected to either disparate impact or disparate treatment in the workplace.