An Act to create access to justice

This bill amends Massachusetts law to strengthen protections against discrimination by government entities by establishing a new section that defines key terms and clarifies how discrimination is evaluated. It explicitly includes "disparate impact" as a form of discrimination, allowing individuals to sue if a government policy disproportionately harms them based on protected characteristics like race or age, even if the policy was not intended to be discriminatory. The legislation requires government agencies to prove that any such policies are necessary, narrowly tailored, and supported by concrete evidence rather than speculation to avoid being found discriminatory. Additionally, it broadens the definition of who can file a claim to include civil rights testing organizations and expands the definition of a "prevailing party" to include those whose lawsuits force a government to change its policies.