Not all employment selection mechanisms that have a “disparate effect,

Not all employment selection mechanisms that have a “disparate effect,” that is, that screens out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to their presence in the relevant labor market, are unlawful.

Here selection mechanisms is plural hence there should be verb agreement - selection mechanisms that screen out.
So rule out options A, B and E

Now between C and D, which refers to disparate effect and is not correct, hence D. Hope this help (I used POE to get to the answer)

Sandeep

Thanks for the reply.

However, I'm still confused with the "that is" part at the middle of that sentence.

Is it an interjection?

Agree with Sandeep.

Additionally, the correct idiom is disproportionate to something and not disproportionate with something. Hence 'D' out.

C which means, that screen out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate with
D that is, that screen out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to

no, 'that is'(i.e.) is not interjection

i.e." is used to specify what your are trying to convey.

Ex:We will have caramel corn, cookies on this spooky night, i.e., Halloween.

I'll go with D for the below two reasons.
Subject-verb agreement -screen out
Correct idiom - disproportionate to
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Posted from my mobile device

Between C and D
Even if don't know the idiom, I can use pronoun ambiguity to get the answer.

In C "which" is ambiguous.
which means, that screen out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate with ---> which can refer to effects which is wrong. We are talking about mechanisms.

D it is.

The key question is why 'which means' is not allowed here.


There is something we need to settle before the proof:

the main structure of the sentence is: (according to choice A D & E)
not all...mechanisms]--[that have ...effect], --[that is],---[that screen out...],----[are]--[unlawful]
(subject)----------------(1st relative clause)----(parenthesis)-(2nd relative clause)---(be)---(predicative)
there are two parallel relative clauses modifying the subject, namely 'mechanism'.

'that is' is a parenthesis, and it connects two relative clauses.
'that is' = 'that is to say'
and 'that' here refers to the 1st clause.
it means, we can express the meaning of the 1st clause in another way, namely by the 2nd clause
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The formal proof of why 'which means' is not allowed here.

Suppose: using 'which means' is allowed here.

claim 1: 'which means' is not a parenthesis.

proof of claim 1

'which' is an interrogative pronoun, not a demonstrative pronoun.
so 'which' cannot refer to the first relative clause.
And we have to regard 'which' as an relative pronoun, which refers to a noun mentioned before, and marks a relative clause.
end of the proof of claim 1.

Therefore, the clause 'that screens out....' is a objective clause, performing as an objective for 'which means'

So 'which means, that screen out....' is a relative clause as a whole, modifying the noun 'disparate effect'.

based on the meaning of the clause 'that screen out...', we know its logic subject is 'mechanism', which is refered to by 'that'.

But 'that' cannot refer to 'mechanisms', because, 'mechanisms' are plural, while 'that' is single.
(here we are no longer dealing with a relative clause, but a objective clause)
We have to use 'those' to refer mechanism.

We we run into a contradiction.

So the supposition that 'which means' is allowed here is false

Hi Kasulty,

The answer to this question is D. Please see my responses above.

There are two basic splits:
1. that is vs which means - I personally could not decide which is better over another, so I tried to find something else.
2. disproportionate To vs Disproportionate with - Disproportionate to is correct idiom (as per my understanding)
Based on second, B, C, and E are out.

Between A and D, the pronoun That points to mechanisms, which is plural so it should be screen not screens. So i selected D as correct answer.

What does various that refers to in OA
Confused to see too many "that"

Not all selection mechanisms that have a “disparate effect,” that is, that screens out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to their presence in the relevant labor market are unlawful.
1. mechanisms that have – that refers to the mechanisms, hence plural verb ‘have’
2. that is – is an idiom ( as per the Free dictionary), meaning, ‘ in other words’. Sometimes, this is also marked as ‘i.e.’ It seeks to define or explain the term ‘disparate effect’
3. that screens – That refers to the disparate effect.
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The first choice was to decide between disproportionate to and disproportionate with. Selected disproportionate to so now left with A and D

Substituted D in original sentence and removed unnecessary stuff.

Not all employment selection mechanisms that have a “disparate effect,” that is, that screen out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to their presence in the relevant labor market, are unlawful.

Thanks Daagh,

In the real GMAT question can we expect this "That is" idiom.
In the examination mode one doesn't quickly grasp this "that is" is idiom "i.e"

Hani
Hi. I don't remember an official question with 'that is'
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Doesn't the underlined portion refer to "disparate effect"? Why is OA D, which has plural verb? How does the underlined portion refer to "mechanisms"?

Note the "that" after "that is". Two parallel clauses are linked with "that is":
"that have a “disparate effect” " and "that screen out a percentage" - the phrase "that is" clarifies the meaning of the first clause using the second. The relative pronoun "that" in both these clauses refer to "mechanisms".

If the second "that" (after "that is") were not there, then the succeeding part could refer to "disparate effect”".

In C vs D, I eliminated C because of the usage of which.

Which cannot refer to an action as its a noun modifier. However, from the context it seems that "which" modifies (that HAVE a disparate effect), which means ---> WHICH = Having a disparate effect.

So meaning wise, its better to use "i.e. ---> That is" than "which".

Thank you for the explanation. This makes sense. Basically the "that" after "that is" are explaining the clause "employment selection mechanisms that have disparate effect" and not "disparate effect". Since subject of the clause is "employment selective mechanisms" i.e. plural therefore, we need the plural verb i.e. screen.

Good question.

Not all employment selection mechanisms that have a “disparate effect,” that is, that screens out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to their presence in the relevant labor market, are unlawful.

that is -> idiom - in other words -> both bold that refer to mechanisms.
A that is, that screens out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to
mechanisms -> screen. SV Error

B which means, that screens out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate with
Which would refer to disparate effect - meaning error

C which means, that screen out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate with
Which would refer to disparate effect - meaning error

D that is, that screen out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate to
Correct

E that is, that screens out a percentage of minorities or women disproportionate with
mechanisms -> screen. SV Error