Distinguish between disparate treatment and disparate impact in a compensation context
MHR 6503 (Law, Reg and the workplace)
Week 2 Discussion
Compare and contrast the differences between disparate impact and disparate treatment and
provide an example for each.
Discuss the importance of valid selection instruments and the various types of validity.
Resources:
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Griggs v. Duke Power Co (Links to an external site.)
Screening by Means of Pre-Employment Testing (Links to an external site.)
Landmark Decision Defines Cause Of Action For “Negligent Supervision” Of
Employees, Personal Liability For Supervisors
Discussion
Disparate impact occurs when a company’s actions, policies, or some other area of their
processes unintentionally lead to discrimination against individuals who are in a protected class.
This occurs when one or more protected groups are negatively affected more than other groups,
while it would otherwise appear neutral to the policy, action, or item in question (Davis, 2018).
Disparate impact involves an employer engaging in an employment practice or policy that has a
huge effect on the members of a protected group under Title VII than on other employees,
irrespective of intent. An example of disparate impact involves the outcomes of the background
check showed during the annual rescreen of an organization that only female employees have
new criminal record violations that would impact their present role or status within the company.
Disparate treatment involves when employers treat specific employees with less favor than
others due to their religion, sex, national origin, or race. It involves intentional discrimination
that exists where an employer treats an employee differently because the person is a member of s
specific race, religion, gender, or ethnic group. The difference between disparate impact and
disparate treatment is that disparate treatment is intentional discrimination, while the disparate
impact is unintentional. Disparate impact claims do not require proof of discriminatory intent
while disparate treatment requires finding intent to discriminate. An example of disparate
treatment involves rescreening all the female employees and just half of the male employees
during the annual rescreen. Validity is a measure of the effectiveness of a provided method, a
selection process is valid if it assists in maximizing the opportunities of hiring the right
individual for the job. The types of validity include content validity, criterion-related validity,
and construct validity. Content validity is suitable when a job analysis describes a job when it
comes to the significant behaviors, tasks, or knowledge needed for effective performance.
Criterion-related validity relates to a test’s ability to forecast how properly an individual will
perform on the job. Construct validity refers to the degree to which a selection device measures a
specific construct that underlies the effective performance of the job in question.
References
Davis, J. (2018). Disparate Treatment versus Disparate Impact. Retrieved from
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