Trump Admin. Puts Tim Walz In Its Crosshairs

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the state of Minnesota to determine if it discriminates in its state employment hiring practices.

The Trump administration began the investigation right after the Minnesota Department of Human Services rolled out a new policy that demands supervisors “provide a hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate when hiring for a vacancy in a job category with underrepresentation.”

If they fail to follow this protocol, they could face disciplinary action.

“Minnesotans deserve to have their state government employees hired based on merit, not based on illegal DEI,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi explained in a statement on the new investigation.

“Federal law has long prohibited employment policies that discriminate based on race or sex,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division went on to add. “The Justice Department refuses to tolerate such conduct, and states invite investigation when they engage in biased hiring practices tied to protected characteristics.”

Minnesota’s Department of Human Services responded to criticisms of its new “hiring justification policy” by saying it exists to ensure the state meets affirmative action responsibilities to comply with state statutes and must increase the diversity of its workforce to reflect and effectively serve its client base.

“The policy defines ‘underrepresented candidates’ to include ‘females,’ and racial ‘minorities’ who are ‘Black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander,’ ‘American Indian or Alaskan native,’” Dhillon said in a letter sent on Thursday to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Department of Human Services’ temporary commissioner Shireen Gandhi.

“Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. When the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a state or local government employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of Title VII, it is the Attorney General’s responsibility to take appropriate action to eliminate that violation, including presenting the matter to the appropriate court for civil proceedings,” Dhillon’s letter continued.

“Specifically, we have reason to believe the Minnesota Department of Human Services is engaging in unlawful action through, among other things, the adoption and forthcoming implementation of its ‘hiring justification’ policy,” the letter also said.

In comments delivered to Fox News, the MDHS said it “follows all state and federal hiring laws.”

“Justification of non-affirmative action hires for some vacancies has been required by state law since 1987,” it continued in its response.