# 43A.19 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. *Section of the Minnesota Statutes headed "Affirmative action"* **43A.19 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.** is the heading of a section of the Minnesota Statutes, the codified law of [[Minnesota]], on [[Affirmative action]].[^1] The record assembled for this article does not include the section's text, its enactment or amendment history, or any case construing it. It therefore does not establish what the section requires or how it has been applied. It also does not establish which legislature or party enacted, amended or maintained the section, or on what dates. A separately numbered provision, [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]], is cited eight times in the complaint the United States filed against the State on January 14, 2026, under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^2] The [[United States Department of Justice]] announced the suit the same day in release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^3] The record does not show that the complaint cites § 43A.19 itself.[^2] ## Federal litigation The case is [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]], No. 0:26-cv-00273, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on January 14, 2026.[^2] The complaint is brought under Title VII. It cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including subdivision 3(c)'s requirement that an agency explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^2] What the complaint states are allegations. The record assembled here carries no later docket entry, answer or ruling, so it does not establish the case's current status.[^2] According to release No. 26-21, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] The release's title uses the United States' own term for the State's apparatus: "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime."[^3] The same word appears in federal statute concerning a foreign government. The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^4] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages ([[How Minnesota Got Here]], note 40) finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described. This is the project's catalogue finding, not an independently established fact.[^4] ## Title VII standard The complaint was filed after the Supreme Court decided [[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]], 605 U.S. 303 (2025).[^5] In that case the Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs."[^5] It rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^5] The record does not establish whether, or how, the complaint in No. 0:26-cv-00273 relies on *Ames*.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *43A.19 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.* (retrieved 2026-10-26) — cached page for the section heading; carries no section text. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43A.19_AFFIRMATIVE_ACTION. [^2]: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII action; cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^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) — announcement of the suit; Attorney General Bondi'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. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; cited for the project's catalogue of "regime" usages. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^5]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — holding on Title VII disparate-treatment claims by majority-group plaintiffs. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf