A Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) affirmative action hiring policy will stay put, despite protest from Republican lawmakers who have criticized it as “DEI on steroids.”
On Wednesday, DHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi informed a pair of state senators that the agency would not comply with their request to rescind the policy, which was updated on Aug. 12 and requires DHS hiring supervisors to provide a “hiring justification” when seeking to hire a “non-underrepresented candidate.”
“As with previous versions of the policy, the policy aims to ensure compliance with the requirement that an agency justify its nonaffirmative action hires for certain appointments as stated in the law,” Gandhi wrote in her Sept. 24 letter to Sens. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, and Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids.
Department of Justice said it’s investigating policy following Alpha News report
In July, Alpha News first reported on a DHS memo regarding an update to an already existing affirmative action hiring policy.
Just days later, Rasmusson and Utke co-wrote a letter to the agency asking it to rescind the policy.
The same week, the federal Department of Justice also announced it was investigating DHS to “determine whether it has engaged in race- and sex-based discrimination in its state employment hiring practices.”
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said at the time that such a policy is counterproductive.
“No one should face discrimination or extra hurdles to obtain a job because of their skin color, gender, [or] orientation,” said Johnson, the state Senate’s top-ranking Republican. “Government must hire the best candidate based on character, experience, and merits, period.”
Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, previously said the policy “is explicitly racist and likely violates constitutional protections.”
“The state of Minnesota should hire based on a candidate’s ability to serve the public, not to satisfy the Democrats’ DEI agenda,” Rasmusson told Alpha News in a statement Friday. “By refusing to reconsider this policy, DHS risks undermining confidence in its hiring process and may inadvertently discourage talented applicants who want to serve their state.”
DHS stands by policy it says has been in statute for nearly 40 years
The memo, which first began circulating through the agency in June, states that “hiring supervisors must provide a hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate when hiring for a vacancy in a job category with underrepresentation.”
The policy requires that those hiring justifications “must be submitted to and approved by DHS Equal Opportunity and Access Division (EOAD) prior to an offer of employment being made.”
According to the memo, “underrepresented” means the representation of “one or more protected groups” is below the group’s availability. The memo defines “protected group(s)” as “females, persons with disabilities, and members of the following minorities: Black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaskan native.”
The memo also includes a reminder about failure to comply with state policies: “Employees may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination, for failure to comply with policies.”
“Justification of nonaffirmative action hires has been a requirement under Minnesota law since 1987,” Gandhi wrote in her letter.
She concluded by stating that DHS “may make changes” to the hiring justification policy based on an internal review but that the agency’s policy is “reflective of our efforts to remain in compliance with the law, and therefore, DHS does not intend to rescind the policy.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
