States like New York and New Jersey have recently strengthened protections around disparate impact discrimination in employment law, which directly counters the federal government’s 2025 executive order to dismantle or de-prioritize disparate impact analysis at the federal level.

In the Law360 article, “Feds, States’ Disparate Impact Split Adds Compliance Wrinkle,” by Vin Gurrieri, Goldberg Segalla partner Christopher P. Maugans explains how employers in these states should approach the concept of disparate impact discrimination, especially when state and federal law remains in conflict.

Chris, who serves as vice chair of the firm’s national Employment and Labor practice, believes New York’s Legislature deliberately codified disparate impact into state law to ensure it remains a recognized legal theory despite federal policy shifts. He adds that the conflict is also fostering new compliance challenges.

“I think this is just the New York state Legislature saying, ‘In an abundance of caution, let’s put disparate impact in the law to make sure applicants and employees that are covered by the Human Rights Law in New York understand that it is a viable legal theory, regardless of what the federal government says or does with its own priorities,’” Chris says. “From a 30,000-foot angle, it creates some disruption when there isn’t harmony between state laws and federal laws.”

Chris notes it was already a best practice for employers to run disparate impact analyses before new policies are implemented, saying that the New York statute “only bolsters that being a best practice.” Chris also emphasizes that employers need to comply with both state and federal laws.

“For a business that’s doing work in a state like New York, the federal law can change however it wants and the federal government’s priorities can change, but employers still very much need to comply with New York state law, so they should continue doing what they’ve been doing,” he says.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED): “Feds, States’ Disparate Impact Split Adds Compliance Wrinkle,” Law360, January 13, 2026

MORE ABOUT GOLDBERG SEGALLA’S Christopher P. Maugans:

Christopher serves as vice chair of Goldberg Segalla’s nationwide Employment and Labor practice group. He dedicates his practice to counseling and defending employers in state and federal courts as well as administrative actions. With a focus on serving both public- and private-sector clients, Chris handles matters involving workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, wage and hour issues, misappropriation of company trade secrets, and enforcement of restrictive covenants in employment agreements, including non-compete, non-solicit, and confidential provisions.