When we ignore real-world impacts, communities that already carry more than their fair share of health and environmental burdens are the ones who pay the price. Photo: Unsplash
September 17, 2026 (Boston, MA) – A coalition of 14 state attorneys general, including Massachusetts and Vermont, released new guidance on Thursday affirming that civil rights laws protect people from policies and practices that have unjustified discriminatory impacts, even when discrimination is not intentional. The guidance comes as the Trump administration rolls back federal enforcement of disparate-impact protections.
“Discrimination doesn’t always announce itself,” said Alex St. Pierre, Conservation Law Foundation Vice President of Environmental Justice. “A decision can look neutral on paper while leaving the same communities with more pollution, poorer health, and less say over what happens in their neighborhoods. When we ignore those real-world impacts, communities that already carry more than their fair share of health and environmental burdens are the ones who pay the price.”
Disparate-impact protections affect decisions that shape everyday life, from hiring, housing, lending, education, and health care to transportation, public services, and where polluting facilities are built.
“The federal government cannot simply declare longstanding civil rights protections illegal and make them disappear,” St. Pierre said. “This guidance is an important reminder that these protections still stand. And while this guidance alone does not create new protections, the Trump administration’s rollback raises the stakes for states. Governors and legislatures cannot stop at affirming these rights. They need to use the power they have to strengthen protections in state law, close existing gaps, and make clear that discrimination will not get a free pass because federal enforcement has weakened.”
Two New England states, Massachusetts and Vermont, joined the 14-state coalition.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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