Congressman Al Green Applauds Supreme Court's Ruling to Uphold Tool Used to Fight Invidious Housing Discrimination

Press Release

On Thursday, June 25, 2015, Congressman Al Green (TX-09) released a statement on the Supreme Court's ruling on the legal doctrine known as Disparate Impact in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, et al v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.

Disparate Impact is a legal doctrine under the Fair Housing Act which states that a policy or practice may be considered discriminatory if it has a disproportionate adverse impact against any group based on race, national origin, color, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. For fair housing advocates, Disparate Impact is a crucial standard in the fight against discriminatory policies. Disparate Impact plays an instrumental role in striking down housing policies which are seemingly neutral but discriminatory in application. The Nixon Administration originally adopted Disparate Impact as an enforcement tool to combat invidious housing discrimination. Since then, both Republican and Democratic Administrations have relied on the Disparate Impact standard to address widespread invidious housing discrimination.

"Today's ruling by the Supreme Court reaffirms what was already affirmed by 11 circuit courts: The Disparate Impact standard is a critical tool that is needed to protect American families against invidious housing discrimination," Congressman Al Green said. "It is not a theory, it is not a construct, it is not an idea, it is a standard that allows the federal government to hold institutions accountable for not playing fairly. Facially neutral policies are not enough because in application, invidious discrimination can still be evident. It is my hope that today's ruling marks the end of assaults against an invaluable tool in the effort to extend the American Dream to all Americans."

Source