# 2017 Minnesota Joint Disparity Study *A procurement disparity study by Keen Independent, commissioned by nine Minnesota public entities and released in 2017–2018.* The **2017 Minnesota Joint Disparity Study** is a procurement disparity study prepared by the consulting firm Keen Independent.[^1] Nine Minnesota public entities commissioned it, among them the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]], the cities of [[Minneapolis]] and St. Paul, and Hennepin County.[^1] Phase 1 was released on October 10, 2017. The full report followed on March 12, 2018.[^1] According to the release as summarized in the project's Time Table, the study found that women- and minority-owned businesses received 11 percent of procurement spending, against an expected 22 percent.[^1] The year before the study's release, Governor [[Mark Dayton]] issued Executive Order 16-01. It describes the State of Minnesota as "committed to being a leader across the United States on issues of diversity and inclusion."[^2] It also created a Diversity and Inclusion Council whose duties were to support the state's "affirmative action program and its implementation throughout the state's agencies."[^2] The Council's members included the Chair of the Metropolitan Council and the Commissioner of Transportation, the heads of two of the study's commissioning entities.[^2] The executive order states the State's commitments. The study reports that the measured share of procurement spending was half the expected share.[^1][^2] On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] sued the State under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]. The complaint cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]], the state's affirmative-action hiring statute, eight times.[^3][^4] The documents in this record do not show the complaint referring to the disparity study.[^4] ## Who - **Commissioning entities:** nine Minnesota public entities. MnDOT, the Metropolitan Council, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Hennepin County are named in the record. The remaining four are not named in the sources carried here.[^1] - **Preparer:** Keen Independent.[^1] ## What - **Procurement finding:** women- and minority-owned businesses received 11 percent of procurement spending, against an expected 22 percent.[^1] - **Interview findings:** the release summary states that interviews documented "unequal access to relationships" and "stereotyping and discriminatory treatment."[^1] - **Limits of the record:** these findings are carried here only through the Keen Independent release and the project's Time Table row summarizing it. The study's methodology, its full text and the period it measured are not in the record. The record does not establish the causes of the disparity it reports.[^1] ## When - **October 10, 2017:** Phase 1 released.[^1] - **March 12, 2018:** full report published.[^1] ## Where - **Location:** the Time Table row places the release in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[^1] ## How much - **Spending shares:** the actual share of procurement spending was 11 percent and the expected share was 22 percent, a difference of 11 percentage points.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - **Executive Order 16-01:** issued by Governor Mark Dayton.[^2] - The [[Governor of Minnesota]] chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Council, and the Governor's Director of Diversity chairs it on the Governor's behalf.[^2] - The Commissioner of the [[Department of Human Rights]] serves as Vice-Chair.[^2] - Other members include the commissioners of Administration, Transportation and Management and Budget, the Chair of the Metropolitan Council, and the President of the [[University of Minnesota]].[^2] - The record does not show Governor Dayton's party. It also does not show instruments of other administrations relating to the study, so no cross-party comparison is drawn here.[^2] - **Federal action:** the United States brought the 2026 Title VII action through the Department of Justice. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] ### What - **Council duties under Executive Order 16-01:** - The Council was to recommend best practices for "recruiting, retaining, and promoting state employees, in state contracting, and civic engagement."[^2] - It was to work in consultation with the agencies' Affirmative Action Officers, the [[Minnesota Indian Affairs Council]], the [[Office on the Economic Status of Women]] and other councils.[^2] - It was to report to the Governor and the [[Minnesota Legislature]] each year.[^2] - A Contracting Practices Committee, chaired by the Commissioner of Administration, was to report to the Council.[^2] - **The federal complaint:** the complaint in No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn.) relies on Minn. Stat. § 43A.191.[^4] - Among its citations is subd. 3(c), which requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^4] - The complaint's claims are allegations. The record carried here does not show a ruling.[^4] - **The DOJ release:** the Department's Office of Public Affairs announced the suit in release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^3] - **The use of "regime":** U.S. law has used the word for governments the United States opposes. For example, the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^5] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages (*How Minnesota Got Here*, note 40) finds Minnesota to be the only U.S. state so described. This is the project's finding, not an independently established fact.[^5] - **Ames (2025):** in [[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]], 605 U.S. 303 (2025), the Supreme Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs." The Court rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^6] ### When - **2016:** Executive Order 16-01 issued, establishing the Diversity and Inclusion Council and rescinding Executive Order 15-02.[^2] - **October 10, 2017 – March 12, 2018:** disparity study released in two stages.[^1] - **2025:** *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services* decided.[^6] - **January 14, 2026:** Title VII complaint filed in the District of Minnesota and DOJ release No. 26-21 issued.[^3][^4] ## Notes [^1]: Keen Independent, *news release on the 2017 Minnesota Joint Disparity Study, Phase 1* (Oct. 10, 2017), as summarized in project Time Table row TL-0862. Establishes the commissioning entities, the release dates (Phase 1 Oct. 10, 2017; full report Mar. 12, 2018), the 11 percent actual versus 22 percent expected procurement share, and the interview findings. https://www.keenindependent.com/news/keen-independent-releases-one-nations-largest-disparity-studies-ever/ [^2]: State of Minnesota, Executive Department, *Executive Order 16-01: Establishing the Diversity and Inclusion Council; Rescinding Executive Order 15-02* (Gov. Mark Dayton). Establishes the Council's stated purposes, its membership, its duties, its consultation with Affirmative Action Officers, and its committees. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/archive/execorders/16-01.pdf [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026). Establishes the release title and the Attorney General's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^4]: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (filed Jan. 14, 2026). Establishes the Title VII claim and the complaint's eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^5]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338. Establishes the statutory phrase "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein." It is cited alongside the project's catalogue finding (*How Minnesota Got Here*, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^6]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025). Establishes the holding on Title VII disparate-treatment claims by majority-group plaintiffs. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf