# Minnesota Statute §703(j) *Subsection (j) of Section 703 of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(j). It is a federal provision, not a Minnesota statute.* "Minnesota Statute §703(j)" is the record's name for a federal provision, not a Minnesota law. It is subsection (j) of Section 703 of [[Title VII]], codified at 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(j) and enacted in Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241.[^1] The subsection states that nothing in Title VII "shall be interpreted to require" preferential treatment "on account of an imbalance".[^1] The provision enters the [[Minnesota]] record through *[[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]*. The United States filed this Title VII action on January 14, 2026.[^2] The complaint alleges violations of §§703(a)(1) and (a)(2) through the Minnesota DHS [[Pre-Hire Justification policy]]. It attaches the signed agency policy as its operative Exhibit B.[^2] The record's at-issue entry sets §703(j) beside [[Minnesota Statute §43A.191]]. That statute requires a written justification before an agency hires a candidate the state has classified by race and sex.[^3] As of June 18, 2026, the case was before a three-judge district court and was ongoing.[^4] The record establishes the text of both instruments and the fact of the exhibit. It does not establish how the court will weigh them.[^4] ## What Section 703(j) is a rule of interpretation for Title VII as a whole. It provides that nothing in Title VII "shall be interpreted to require" any employer covered by the title to grant preferential treatment "on account of an imbalance".[^1] Its codified location is 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(j). Its enacting citation is Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241.[^1] ## How The record's at-issue entry anchors §703(j) to a White House presidential action of 2025, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity*. The entry describes that order as restating §703(j) as executive policy.[^5] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue entry pairs two documents. The first is the federal subsection, which states that Title VII is not to be "interpreted to require" preferential treatment "on account of an imbalance".[^1] The second is the state requirement. Minn. Stat. §43A.191 requires a written justification before an agency hires a candidate the state has classified by race and sex.[^3] The federal complaint attaches the state's form as an exhibit.[^2] The entry places the subsection and the State's own form side by side. It draws on two source kinds, the complaint and the statute.[^2][^3] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - [[§43A.191]] binds state executive-branch agencies only.[^3] - The Title VII complaint challenges the Minnesota DHS Hiring/Pre-Hire Justification policy. Its operative Exhibit B is the signed agency policy containing the "[[Non-underrepresented candidate|non-underrepresented candidate]]" language.[^2] - The complaint cites §43A.191 eight times, according to the record's prior validation.[^4] - The complaint is pleaded through the textualist reading of Title VII applied in *Bostock*.[^4] ### Who - The plaintiff is the United States and the defendant is the State of Minnesota. The policy at issue belongs to the Minnesota DHS.[^2] - The case is before a three-judge district court. The panel is Circuit Judge [[Raymond W. Gruender]], Chief Judge [[Patrick J. Schiltz]] of the District of Minnesota, and Judge [[D. Price Marshall Jr.]] of the Eastern District of Arkansas. Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins was assigned after a recusal.[^4] ### When - January 21, 2025: Executive Order 14173 revoked [[Executive Order 11246]]. The Title VII complaint was brought after that revocation.[^4] - September 30, 2025: the Offices for Civil Rights of the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services issued a finding of Minnesota Title IX noncompliance.[^6] - January 14, 2026: the United States filed *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn.).[^2] - February 27, 2026: the State's response to the Title VII complaint was due.[^4] - March 30, 2026: the United States filed *United States v. Minnesota Dept. of Education et al.*, No. 0:26-cv-02078, a [[Title IX]] action. Its complaint states allegations, not findings.[^7] - June 18, 2026: the Title VII case was reported ongoing.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Legal Information Institute (Cornell), *42 U.S.C. §2000e-2* (Title VII, §703) — text of subsection (j) on preferential treatment and its enacting citation, Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000e-2 [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *United States v. State of Minnesota*, Complaint, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn., filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII allegations under §§703(a)(1) and (a)(2), the Pre-Hire Justification policy, and Exhibit B. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^3]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. §43A.191* — the state justification requirement and its application to state executive-branch agencies only. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/43A.191 [^4]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, refreshed June 18, 2026), note [53], on *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 — reports the panel, the response deadline, the Bostock pleading, the EO 14173 revocation, the eight §43A.191 citations, and the case status as of June 18, 2026. The primary docket document is the complaint. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^5]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (2025) — presidential action the at-issue entry cites as restating §703(j) as executive policy. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/ [^6]: U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Offices for Civil Rights, *press release: Departments find Minnesota violated Title IX* (Sept. 30, 2025) — the agency finding of Minnesota Title IX noncompliance. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-and-us-department-of-health-and-human-services-find-minnesota-violated-title-ix [^7]: CourtListener, *United States v. Minnesota Department of Education*, docket No. 0:26-cv-02078 (filed Mar. 30, 2026) — the Title IX complaint (allegations). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73111242/united-states-v-minnesota-department-of-education/