# United States v. State of Minnesota (affirmative-action hiring) *Case No. 0:26-cv-00273, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, filed January 14, 2026* *United States v. State of Minnesota* is a federal civil action that the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed against the State of [[Minnesota]] in the District of Minnesota on January 14, 2026. The action is brought under Title VII. [[Affirmative action]] plans and related hiring requirements under Minn. Stat. §§43A.19 and 43A.191 are the instruments at issue.[^1] The Department announced the suit in press release No. 26-21, titled "United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime." The release states that the case was certified "a matter of general public importance," entitling the United States to "expedited review by a three-judge district court and direct appeal to the United States Supreme Court."[^2] As of the record, the case is active.[^1] The complaint cites §43A.191 eight times.[^1] The Revisor's history line for §43A.191 shows that the section was enacted in the 1985 First Special Session. It also lists thirteen later amendments through 2023, seven of them enacted under Republican governors, and no repeals.[^3] ## Parties and instrument The United States, acting through the Department of Justice, is the plaintiff. The State of Minnesota is the defendant.[^1] Claim rows in the record name the [[Minnesota Department of Human Services]] as an institutional defendant.[^4] The same rows name Minnesota Management and Budget as the agency that administers §43A.191 statewide.[^5] Two statutes are named. The record lists Minn. Stat. §43A.19 as a [[Pay equity]] provision dated 1981.[^6] Minn. Stat. §43A.191 governs affirmative action plans. It requires state agencies to set numerical affirmative-action goals, file plans, and report annually.[^3] ## Procedural history - **January 14, 2026:** The complaint is filed in the District of Minnesota under docket 0:26-cv-00273.[^1] - **January 14, 2026:** The Department of Justice issues press release No. 26-21 announcing the suit. The release states that the case was certified a matter of general public importance, with expedited review by a three-judge district court and direct appeal to the Supreme Court.[^2] - **Status as of record:** Active; certified a matter of general public importance; three-judge court, with direct appeal to the Supreme Court.[^1][^2] ## Claims The complaint challenges the State's affirmative-action hiring requirements under Title VII.[^1] Exhibit B to the complaint is the Department of Human Services' Hiring Justification Policy 4100.250, which sets out a Pre-Hire Justification mechanism. The record describes that mechanism as requiring an agency to document why a "non-underrepresented" candidate was hired.[^1] Attorney General Bondi stated: "Making hiring decisions based on race and sex is simple discrimination."[^1] ## Substrate - **1981:** Laws 1981 c 210 enacted chapter 43A under Governor [[Al Quie]], a Republican who served from 1979 to 1983. Quie signed §43A.19 that year.[^7][^3] - **1985:** The legislature enacted §43A.191 in Laws 1Sp1985 c 13 s 172. This was during the second administration of Governor [[Rudy Perpich]], a DFL governor who served from 1976 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991.[^3][^8] - **1987–2023:** The history line records thirteen amendments to §43A.191: two in 1987, then 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019 and 2023. It records no repeals.[^3] - Seven of the thirteen amendments were enacted under Republican governors. Three came under [[Arne Carlson]] (1992, 1995, 1996) and four under Tim Pawlenty (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009).[^3] - **2019 and 2023:** Laws 1Sp2019 c 10 and Laws 2023 c 62 each amended §43A.191 and a second statute now in federal litigation in a single enactment. A comparison of the 2022 and 2025 archived text shows that the 2023 enactment added a governor-escalation sentence to §43A.191.[^3] ## Related matters The record lists this case among eleven federal actions, with captions and dates read from the filed complaints. The others include: - 0:26-cv-02078 (March 30, 2026) - 0:25-cv-03798 (September 29, 2025) - 0:25-cv-03761 (September 25, 2025), which concerns §201.091 - 0:25-cv-02668 (June 25, 2025) - 0:25-cv-00048-ADM-DLM (January 6, 2025)[^9] ## See also - [[Bostock v. Clayton County]] - [[Office on the Economic Status of Women]] - [[Comparable worth]] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Department of Justice — *United States v. State of Minnesota*, Complaint, 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs — "United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime," No. 26-21, Jan. 14, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^3]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes — Minn. Stat. §43A.191, text and history line. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/43A.191 [^4]: Minnesota Department of Human Services. https://mn.gov/dhs/ [^5]: Minnesota Management and Budget. https://mn.gov/mmb/ [^6]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes — Minn. Stat. §43A.19. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/43A.19 [^7]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library — Al Quie, governor 1979–1983. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10825 [^8]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library — Rudy Perpich, governor 1976–1979 and 1983–1991. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10720 [^9]: How Minnesota Got Here (merged master, footnoted), note 36. Captions and dates were read from the filed complaints. The record carries no public URL for these dockets other than the 0:26-cv-00273 complaint.