The Justice Department sued Minnesota on Wednesday, alleging the state’s long-running affirmative action regime unlawfully discriminates against job applicants and employees on the basis of race and sex in violation of federal civil rights law.
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the DOJ argued that state law requires agencies to make staffing and personnel decisions with explicit consideration of race and sex, which effectively amounts to unlawful discrimination against applicants who do not fall within designated “protected groups,” according to the department.
Minnesota law directs all executive branch agencies to adopt affirmative action plans that seek to “balance” the demographic makeup of the state workforce with the civilian labor force. Agencies must establish numerical hiring goals by race and sex, track “underutilization,” and consider affirmative action benchmarks in all personnel decisions, including hiring, promotions, transfers, and layoffs.
Attorney General Pam Bondi framed the lawsuit as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to dismantle race-based government policies.
Today, @TheJusticeDept sued Minnesota for using affirmative action to hire for its state agencies.
This is discriminatory DEI codified into bad state policy, and the Trump Administration will not stand for it. https://t.co/NcNHMftLwa
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 14, 2026
“Making hiring decisions based on immutable characteristics like race and sex is simple discrimination, and the Trump Administration has no tolerance for such DEI policies,” Bondi said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The DOJ’s complaint points to specific state practices it says cross the legal line, including rules that require hiring managers to justify and obtain approval before selecting candidates who are not deemed “underrepresented” by race or sex. Under Minnesota’s system, hiring supervisors in certain job categories must submit prehire justification forms explaining why they selected a nonaffirmative-action candidate, a procedural burden that does not apply when hiring candidates in preferred groups.
In the complaint, the DOJ singled out the Minnesota Department of Human Services over its policy manual, which first became a key point of investigation for the DOJ last July. The state DHS policy bars supervisors from making job offers to non-underrepresented candidates until the agency’s Equal Opportunity and Access Division signs off. Supervisors are also required to interview a minimum number of underrepresented candidates when available and document “objective reasons” for passing them over, a process the DOJ argues effectively penalizes applicants based on race and sex rather than qualifications.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the case builds on recent Supreme Court rulings rejecting race-conscious decision-making, including the high court’s 2023 decision barring race-based college admissions.
“Title VII protects all people from race and sex discrimination in employment,” Dhillon said. “There is no exception that allows discrimination against employees who aren’t considered ‘underrepresented.’”
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen for the District of Minnesota tied the lawsuit to broader concerns about governance in the state.
“Minnesotans already had to see their state officials let criminals brazenly walk off with over a billion taxpayer dollars,” Rosen said, referencing federal fraud investigations. “Now they see those same officials abusing their power by systematically and unlawfully branding jobseekers as the wrong race or sex.”
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The lawsuit comes as Minnesota remains under heightened federal scrutiny following a string of high-profile scandals, including major fraud prosecutions and the recent shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer that resulted in the death of 37-year-old protester Renee Good.
The Washington Examiner contacted Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison but did not immediately receive a response.
