In the state of California, it was recently found that police officers who had been working for a short amount of time and had little experience on the job were given higher pay raises that those officers who had significant seniority, much more experience, but were over the age of forty. According the Federal Law Title VII, this is age discrimination. But it was not considered disparate treatment; rather, it was considered disparate impact because the discrimination was the result of police department policy rather than direct, intentional discrimination.
This is important for all employers. Disparate impact, since it is not done with malice, is not as harmful as disparate treatment, but it is still very serious. When an employer is thinking of changing company policies, it is imperative that they check that the policies follow both state and federal employment law.
