Justice Department Opens Investigation into the State of Minnesota for Race- and Sex-Based Hiring Practices

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into the State of Minnesota, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services, to determine whether it has engaged in race- and sex-based discrimination in its state employment hiring practices.

In a policy issued earlier this month, the Minnesota Department of Human Services requires its hiring supervisors to provide a “hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate.” Hiring supervisors who do not comply with the policy “may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.” The policy seems to be part of a broader effort by the state to engage in race- and sex-based employment practices in its “affirmative action” objectives.

The Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section will investigate whether Minnesota is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

“Minnesotans deserve to have their state government employees hired based on merit, not based on illegal DEI,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

“Federal law has long prohibited employment policies that discriminate based on race or sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department refuses to tolerate such conduct, and states invite investigation when they engage in biased hiring practices tied to protected characteristics.”

You can read the notice letter here.