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 Oklahoma, as in other states, employment discrimination laws encompass both disparate impact and disparate treatment, aligning with federal regulations. Disparate impact refers to employment practices that, while seemingly neutral, disproportionately affect members of a protected class, such as a hiring test that unintentionally excludes a higher percentage of 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 administering a test only to candidates of a certain race. 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), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other anti-discrimination statutes. These laws protect against discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, age, military status, equal pay, pregnancy, disability, or genetic information. An attorney specializing in employment law can provide guidance on how these regulations apply in specific circumstances within Oklahoma.