means a legal theory holding that a policy can be discriminatory in effect even if it never mentions race, gender, or any protected trait.

from born in griggs v. duke power co. (1971), where a company required high school diplomas and IQ tests for jobs that never needed either — the tests screened out black applicants far more than white ones, and the supreme court ruled that neutral rules with unequal fallout still violate title vii of the civil rights act.