Supreme Court Upholds Key Tool for Fighting Housing Bias

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court upholds the use of so-called disparate impact, a crucial tool for combatting housing discrimination.

News Story Associated Press (AP)
June 25, 2015
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Tags: Housing: Discrimination, Housing: Landlord-Tenant, Minorities: Racial/Ethnic, U.S. Supreme Court


DETAILS

The Supreme Court handed a surprising victory to the Obama administration and civil rights groups on Thursday when it upheld a key tool used for more than four decades to fight housing discrimination.

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The ruling is a win for housing advocates who argued that the housing law allows challenges to race-neutral policies that have a negative impact on minority groups. The Justice Department has used disparate impact lawsuits to win more than $500 million in legal settlements from companies accused of bias against black and Hispanic customers.