Fran is a HR Professional for her organization and she is interviewing applicants for a warehouse position. One of the candidates has written on his application that he speaks Spanish. Fran interviews

Disparate treatment is intentional differential treatment of an individual compared to similarly situated others based on a protected characteristic. Fran conducted this candidate's interview in Spanish - a deviation from her standard English-language process - triggered by information on his application tied to national origin or language, without applying a consistent, non-discriminatory standard to all candidates. This unequal treatment based on a protected-class-adjacent characteristic is the definition of disparate treatment.

Disparate impact involves a facially neutral policy that disproportionately excludes a protected group; it does not describe intentional, individualized differential treatment by an interviewer.

Accommodation is a legal obligation to adjust policies for an employee's disability or sincerely held religious belief, which has no application to an interviewer's unilateral decision to switch languages.

Perpetuating past discrimination refers to continuing institutionalized discriminatory practices carried forward from historical policies, not an individual interviewer's conduct in a single interview.