Choosing Love and Inclusion
Time and time again, Minnesotans have chosen love and inclusion to help build a thriving and joyful state. That's why the Minnesota Department of Human Rights is focused on statewide policies at the Capitol that help ensure Minnesotans can live free from discrimination, harassment, and hate.
Below you'll find updates on some legislation we're supporting this session. For future updates, you can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
CROWN Act Bans Hair Discrimination
"Hair discrimination is race discrimination." - Rebecca Lucero, Commissioner
Last month, the Minnesota House passed the CROWN Act with bipartisan support!
The CROWN Act provides plain language clarity to the Minnesota Human Rights Act to ensure the definition of race includes natural hairstyles inherit to racial identity such as braids, locs, and twists.
We are grateful for the leadership of the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage and the Urban League Twin Cities Young Professionals, community members who shared powerful stories, as well as the support from many legislators.
The CROWN Act now awaits action by the Minnesota Senate.
Take Pride Act Advances LGBTQIA+ Rights
Take Pride Act
Last month, the Minnesota House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Take Pride Act, which updates sexual orientation and gender identity protections in the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
During the hearing, Commissioner Lucero shared that Minnesota was the first state in the country to prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in 1993. However, a lot has changed since then. That's why now is the time to pass the Take Pride Act. LGBTQIA+ rights are civil rights!
Closing the Racial and Gender Pay Gap
Preventing Pay Discrimination Act
Almost one year ago, the Minnesota House passed the Preventing Pay Discrimination Act, which helps close Minnesota's racial and gender pay gap. The companion bill now awaits action in the Minnesota Senate this session.
The bill protects job applicants from having to disclose their pay history when applying for a job or negotiating a wage. In the states that already ended the pay history question, pay is up 8% for all women and 13% for Black workers.
📣 Join us on social media for #EqualPayDay on Tuesday, March 15 to highlight the importance of ending pay discrimination.
Supplemental Budget Helps Address Hate
The Walz-Flanagan Budget To Move Minnesota Forward
Hate has no home in Minnesota. That's why the Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward takes important steps to address hate incidents.
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Hate Incident Tracking: In partnership with community-based groups, the budget allows the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to track, analyze, and report on bias and hate incidents.
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Bias Response and Community Equity Outreach Team: To help create welcoming and safe communities, the Bias Response and Community Equity Outreach Team would build partnerships across the community to prevent hate incidents from happening and respond to incidents after they occur by providing support and connecting individuals to resources.
We are grateful to the Communities Combating Hate coalition for their support.
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