# Rajender v. University of Minnesota (consent decree) *1980 consent decree in a Title VII action against the University of Minnesota, D. Minn. No. 4-73-Civ-435* *Rajender v. University of Minnesota* was a Title VII employment action that Shyamala Rajender brought against the [[University of Minnesota]] in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. It was filed in 1973 under docket No. 4-73-Civ-435.[^1] The case ended in a consent decree dated August 13, 1980. Under the decree, Rajender received $100,000 and the University was placed under an injunction.[^1][^2] The case record also lists a later proceeding, *Rajender II*, in 1989.[^1] The record associates the case with an 11-week trial before Judge [[Miles Lord]].[^1] In the [[Minnesota]] record, the 1980 decree appears in the same chronology as later state and federal instruments concerning the [[City of Minneapolis]]. The record places these matters side by side. It does not establish any causal connection between the 1980 decree and the later proceedings.[^1][^3] ## Parties and instrument The plaintiff was Shyamala Rajender, and the defendant was the University of Minnesota.[^1] The instrument is a consent decree under Title VII, dated August 13, 1980. The case was heard in the District of Minnesota (D. Minn.) on the federal civil docket as No. 4-73-Civ-435.[^1] The University of Minnesota's digital conservancy holds a document titled *The Rajender Consent Decree and Women in the Institute of Technology*.[^2] ## Procedural history - **1973:** The action was filed in the District of Minnesota, docket No. 4-73-Civ-435.[^1] - **Trial:** The case was tried for 11 weeks before Judge Miles Lord. The record gives no trial dates.[^1] - **August 13, 1980:** A consent decree was entered, providing $100,000 to Rajender and an injunction against the University.[^1][^2] - **1989:** The case record lists a later proceeding, *Rajender II*. The record carries no further validated detail on it.[^1] ## Claims The record does not include the complaint or any findings. The substance of the original Title VII allegations is therefore not stated here. The sources in the record describe the matter only through its sequence: a Title VII filing in 1973, an 11-week trial before Judge Lord, and a consent decree in 1980.[^1][^2] ## Later litigation against the University A later suit against the University, [[Maitland v. University of Minnesota]], was litigated from 1994 to 2003. This is according to a case history published on the University of Florida IFAS EDIS site.[^4] The record shows that the two cases share a defendant. It does not establish any further relationship between that suit and the 1980 decree.[^4][^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### When The record's Minnesota chronology places the 1980 decree alongside later civil-rights instruments concerning the [[Minneapolis Police Department]]: - **1973 and 1980:** *Rajender* was filed, and its consent decree was entered on August 13, 1980.[^1] - **July 2020:** The [[Minnesota Department of Human Rights]] (MDHR) filed a civil rights charge against the City of Minneapolis over the MPD.[^3] - **April 2022:** MDHR issued a pattern-or-practice finding regarding the City and the MPD.[^5] - **2023:** A court-enforceable settlement agreement between MDHR and the City was approved.[^5][^6] - **June 2023:** The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division issued a findings report on the City and the MPD.[^7] - **January 6, 2025:** The Justice Department and the City jointly filed a proposed consent decree in [[United States v. City of Minneapolis (MPD consent decree)]], No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.). The filing came with the complaint and a joint motion for approval, and the decree provided for an independent monitor.[^8][^9][^10] The case entry for the filed decree lists it at 171 pages. The Justice Department's announcement, as summarized in the record, describes a 169-page decree.[^8][^9] - **May 21, 2025:** The Justice Department moved to dismiss the case.[^11] - **May 27, 2025:** Judge [[Paul A. Magnuson]] dismissed the case with prejudice and denied the joint motion to approve the decree as moot. He questioned whether the suit presented a case or controversy. He called the decree "superfluous" given the City's existing settlement with MDHR, under which the reforms continue.[^12] Sahan Journal reports that the order issued on May 28, 2025. It quotes the judge as having "grave misgivings about the proposed consent decree serving the public interest."[^13] ### Who - **Shyamala Rajender:** plaintiff in the 1973 action and recipient of $100,000 under the 1980 decree.[^1] - **University of Minnesota:** defendant, subject to the 1980 injunction.[^1][^2] - **Miles Lord:** the judge before whom the 11-week trial was held.[^1] - **Paul A. Magnuson:** the judge who dismissed *United States v. City of Minneapolis* in 2025.[^12] ## See also - [[University of Minnesota]] - [[Miles Lord]] - [[Maitland v. University of Minnesota]] - [[United States v. City of Minneapolis (MPD consent decree)]] - [[Minnesota Department of Human Rights]] - [[Affirmative action]] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Rajender v. University of Minnesota* (n.d.) — establishes the caption, docket No. 4-73-Civ-435, D. Minn., filing in 1973, the Title VII consent decree of August 13, 1980, the $100,000 payment and injunction, the 11-week trial before Judge Miles Lord, and the *Rajender II* (1989) listing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajender_v._University_of_Minnesota [^2]: University of Minnesota Conservancy, *The Rajender Consent Decree and Women in the Institute of Technology* (n.d.) — a University document on the Rajender consent decree. https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/100395/WFC10.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y [^3]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Press releases* (July 2020) — establishes the MDHR civil rights charge against the City of Minneapolis over the MPD. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/press-releases/ [^4]: University of Florida IFAS, *EDIS HR050* (n.d.) — case history of *Maitland v. University of Minnesota*, litigated 1994–2003. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr050 [^5]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *MDHR home page* (n.d.) — establishes the April 2022 pattern-or-practice finding on the City and MPD and the court-enforceable settlement approved in 2023. https://mn.gov/mdhr/ [^6]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *MPD settlement agreement page* (2023) — establishes the MDHR–City of Minneapolis agreement. https://mn.gov/mdhr/mpd/agreement/ [^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Civil Rights Division findings report on the City of Minneapolis and MPD* (June 2023) — establishes the federal findings. https://www.justice.gov/ [^8]: U.S. District Court, D. Minn., *Consent Decree, United States v. City of Minneapolis*, No. 0:25-cv-00048 (filed Jan. 6, 2025) — establishes the filed decree, its docket, and its date; the case entry lists it at 171 pp. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1383116/dl [^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (Jan. 6, 2025) — establishes the joint filing of a 169-page proposed decree with the complaint and a joint motion for approval, providing for an independent monitor. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-agreement-city-minneapolis-and-minneapolis-police-department [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Fact sheet: Minneapolis consent decree* (Jan. 2025) — establishes the summary of the proposed decree. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1383121/dl [^11]: MPR News, *Minneapolis police federal consent decree agreement could be dismissed after DOJ filing* (May 21, 2025) — establishes the Justice Department's dismissal filing. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/05/21/minneapolis-police-federal-consent-decree-agreement-could-be-dismissed-after-doj-filing [^12]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, case 18178 (May 27, 2025) — establishes the docketed dismissal with prejudice, the denial of the approval motion as moot, and the court's reference to the MDHR settlement. https://clearinghouse.net/case/18178/ [^13]: Sahan Journal, *Minneapolis federal consent decree dismissed* (May 28, 2025) — reports the order date as May 28, 2025 and quotes Judge Magnuson's "grave misgivings." https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/minneapolis-federal-consent-decree-dismissed/