Links in “Discriminatory Practices/Disparate Impact”

American Express has a provision in its contract with merchants against discrimination, but because it charges merchants a higher percentage of each sale, and retailers tend to pass along the higher costs onto all consumers, it's the lower-income shoppers who suffer most. A judge in New York decided to step in. [2/25/15]

Testing for disparate impact can ensure that your members are being treated fairly, rather than just ensuring that your credit union is in compliance with regulatory requirements. Learn how to test for disparate impact in situations where you are not collecting the key data from your loan applicants. [2/23/15]

CNN reported yesterday that buying a home is easier if you’re white. According to a recent report by Zillow and the National Urban League, fewer minorities apply for conventional mortgages. But is this a factor of race or are the wide disparities in homeownership among different ethnic groups really a factor of economics? [2/11/15]

Two car title lenders, First American Title Lending of Georgia, LLC, and Finance Select, Inc., were charged with deceptive advertising. Both companies advertised an interest rate of zero percent for a 30-day car title loan without disclosing important conditions. [2/2/15]

ACLU sues a company and judge in Georgia on behalf of an African-American teenager who was jailed for five days for not paying court fines. "We seek to dismantle this two-tiered system of justice that punishes the poor among us, disproportionately people of color." [2/2/15]

After two cases were settled before they reached the Supreme Court of the United States, the third case made it all the way. Oral arguments have been concluded, and a decision is expected sometime before the end of June 2015. In the meantime, here is a summary of oral arguments. [1/30/15]

One lawyer's take on Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Washington Post op-ed piece, in which she warns of dire impact should the Supreme Court strike down disparate impact. [1/29/15]

Stakeholders are waiting on the edge of their seats for the Supreme Court to announce their decision about whether disparate impact claims are allowed under the Fair Housing Act. The court recently heard arguments for and against this issue. [1/23/15]

Law firm files amicus brief in case before the Supreme Court on disparate impact. The use of disparate impact has prevented affordable housing developers and operators from carrying out their mission to use federal programs to develop affordable housing and to invest in low-income communities. Oral arguments begin tomorrow. [1/20/15]

A new breed of smart lending computer algorithms could help banks make better, fast lending decisions, but with so much data and so much complexity, the software could end up discriminating against certain racial or ethnic groups without being programmed to do so. [1/19/15]