Southwest Fair Housing Council v. Mdwid, 17 F.4th 950 (2021)

Citation: Southwest Fair Housing Council v. Mdwid, 17 F.4th 950 (2021)
Parent Document: Southwest Fair Housing Council v. Mdwid, 17 F.4th 950 (2021)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 2021-11-12
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5296996/southwest-fair-housing-council-v-mdwid/ ↗

Full Text

1,159 chars

“Governmental or private policies are not contrary to the
disparate-impact requirement unless they are ‘artificial,
arbitrary, and unnecessary barriers.’”                 Inclusive
Communities, 576 U.S. at 543 (quoting Griggs v. Duke
Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 436 (1971)). Accordingly, “[a]n
important and appropriate means of ensuring that disparate-
impact liability is properly limited is to give housing
authorities and private developers leeway to state and
explain the valid interest served by their policies.” Id. at 541.
“This step of the analysis is analogous to the business
necessity standard under Title VII . . . [j]ust as an employer
may maintain a workplace requirement that causes a
disparate impact if that requirement is a ‘reasonable
measure[ment] of job performance,’ so too must housing
authorities and private developers be allowed to maintain a
policy if they can prove it is necessary to achieve a valid
interest.” Id. (alteration in original) (citation omitted)
(quoting Griggs, 401 U.S. at 431). “While the defendant
must produce evidence that the practice serves legitimate
ends, ‘[t]he ultimate burden of proving that discrimination

Other Sections in This Document (145)

Full Text