Federal Government Probing Minnesota State, George Mason University Over DEI, Hiring Practices

The state and the university are accused of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

An entrance sign to George Mason University's main campus in Fairfax, Va., on Sept. 4, 2021. Shutterstock

The federal government has launched investigations into hiring practices by the state of Minnesota and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at George Mason University in Virginia, it announced on July 10.

The Department of Education said in a statement that it was investigating the university over alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs that receive federal funding.

The statement said the probe is based on a complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by “multiple professors” at the university, who allege it “illegally uses race and other immutable characteristics in university policies, including hiring and promotion.”

Citing the complaint, the department said leadership at the university has “promoted and adopted unlawful DEI policies” since 2020, and that the policies “give preferential treatment to prospective and current faculty from ‘underrepresented groups’ to advance ’anti-racism.'”

The department said the alleged conduct creates a “racially hostile environment” and is prohibited under Title VI.

“This kind of pernicious and wide-spread discrimination—packaged as ‘anti-racism’—was allowed to flourish under the Biden Administration, but it will not be tolerated by this one,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in the statement.

“The Trump-McMahon Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights will investigate this matter fully to ensure that individuals are judged based on their merit and accomplishment, not the color of their skin.”

It marks the second Title VI investigation opened against George Mason this month after the Education Department said it was probing allegations that the school had failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from what it described as a “hostile environment” from October 2023 through the 2024–2025 academic year.

The university denied any allegations of discrimination in a statement, and said it “affirms its commitment to comply with all federal and state mandates.”

It comes as the Trump administration has announced probes into the DEI practices of multiple universities in recent weeks, including the University of California and the University of Virginia, the latter of which saw the school’s president, James Ryan, resign.

The move is part of a wider effort by President Donald Trump, who has issued multiple executive orders since January aimed at ending federal funding for DEI initiatives, which he says violate federal civil rights laws and undermine “national unity.”

In a separate statement, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said it is also probing the state of Minnesota, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services, over whether it engaged in race- and sex-based discrimination in its state employment hiring practices, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

It cited a policy, issued earlier this month, by the Minnesota Department of Human Services that requires its hiring supervisors to provide a “hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate.”

Hiring supervisors who fail to comply with the policy “may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination,” according to the department, which said the policy appeared to be part of a wider effort by the state to “engage in race- and sex-based employment practices in its ‘affirmative action’ objectives.”

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section is leading the probe.

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

Bondi added that federal law prohibits employment policies that discriminate based on race or sex.

“The Justice Department refuses to tolerate such conduct, and states invite investigation when they engage in biased hiring practices tied to protected characteristics,” Bondi said.

The Epoch Times has contacted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office for comment.