DOJ sues Minnesota over discriminatory hiring practices amid federal crackdown

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state of Minnesota seeking to dismantle its affirmative action hiring policies that use race and sex-based goals — labeling the state’s effort to end discrimination a form of discrimination itself.

In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Minnesota, the DOJ claims the state’s affirmative action plan discriminates against and limits employees based on their race and sex in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its legal action comes after it began an investigation into Minnesota’s employment practices last summer.

“When Minnesota gives preferences to employees or prospective employees on the basis of their race, color, national origin, and sex, it inevitably and necessarily discriminates against other employees or prospective employees because of their race, color, national origin, and sex,” the DOJ said in a press release.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in the release that this is the “next logical step” after the Supreme Court put an end to using race as a factor in college admissions in 2023.

“For far too long, courts have allowed employers to discriminate based on race and sex when it is packaged as ‘affirmative action,’” he said. “There is no exception that allows discrimination against employees who aren’t considered ‘underrepresented.’”

The DOJ said in the complaint that Minnesota requires its hiring managers to “jump through additional hoops to hire employees” who don’t fall under an underrepresented group.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the lawsuit is about bringing Minnesota into compliance with federal law and that making hiring decisions based on characteristics like race and sex is “simple discrimination.”

“The Trump administration has no tolerance for such DEI policies,” she said in the release.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the DOJ’s initial July 2025 investigations “garbage” and “nonsense” pursuits in an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune last summer.

The Trump administration made its intentions clear with regard to affirmative action — and related diversity, equity and inclusion practices — in a January 2025 executive order. President Donald Trump’s order directed the attorney general and federal agencies to identify and terminate “all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs and activities.”

Trump’s order established that it is now the “policy of the United States” to prioritize individual merit over DEI initiatives.

Wednesday’s lawsuit is likely the first instance of a federal suit against a state entity over affirmative action, although the Trump administration has used various legal mechanisms to target similar programs across the country on a smaller scale. Recent instances include a May 2025 civil rights investigation into the University of Virginia regarding its DEI policies and ongoing investigations into diversity initiatives at major companies.

It’s another blow in what Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has called an ongoing assault against the state by the Trump administration and comes just days after Minnesota filed its own lawsuit against the federal government over unlawful deployment of thousands of immigration agents to the state.

“I don’t think any governor in history has had to fight a war against the federal government every single day,” Walz said last week after announcing he was dropping his bid to be reelected to a third term as governor.

Bondi certified Wednesday’s case as a matter of general public importance — entitling the U.S. to expedited review and direct appeal to the Supreme Court.