# DEED Affirmative Action Plan, July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026 *Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development affirmative action plan for the 2024–2026 biennium.* The **DEED Affirmative Action Plan, July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026** is an [[Affirmative action]] plan of a [[Minnesota]] state agency. Its title gives its term as July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026.[^1] The record assembled for this article contains no copy of the plan and no primary document on its contents, adoption, approval, or amendment, so the article does not describe them. The plan's term overlaps a federal suit against the State over affirmative action in public hiring. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] in the District of Minnesota under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^2] The release announcing the suit was titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^3] The record does not establish whether the complaint names this plan or the agency that issued it. ## Federal action against the State The Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21 on January 14, 2026, announcing the suit.[^3] According to the release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] The complaint in No. 0:26-cv-00273, brought under Title VII, cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times.[^4] Among the provisions it cites is subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^4] These are the complaint's allegations and its statutory predicate. The record assembled here does not show the court's disposition of the case. ## Legal background 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."[^5] The Court rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule, which had applied to majority-group plaintiffs.[^5] The *Ames* decision came the year before the State was sued in January 2026.[^2] ## Use of the term "regime" The federal government has used "regime" as a term for governments it opposes. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338), for example, states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^6] The title of DOJ release No. 26-21 uses the same word for Minnesota.[^3] 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.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *DEED Affirmative Action Plan, July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026* (retrieved 2026-10-26) — page title giving the plan's name and term; no revision identifier or section content was recorded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEED_Affirmative_Action_Plan,_July_1,_2024_-_June_30,_2026 [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — docket, court, filing date, and Title VII basis. 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) — release title and number; 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. Department of Justice, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including the explanation requirement of subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^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; rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^6]: United States Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; cited with the project's catalogue finding (How Minnesota Got Here, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf