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![]() Michigan Department of Civil Rights logo | |
Department overview | |
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Formed | 1965 |
Headquarters | Lansing, Michigan |
Department executives |
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Child agencies |
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Website | michigan.gov/mdcr |
Michigan Department of Civil Rights is a department of the Michigan State Government created in 1965 to support the work of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission of Michigan's Constitution of 1963. The Commission directs the work of the department and has eight members. [2] The executive director is John E. Johnson, Jr.
The Department of Civil Rights investigates and resolves discrimination complaints and works to prevent discrimination through educational programs that promote voluntary compliance with civil rights laws.
In 1963, Michigan approved a new constitution which included the creation of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. In 1965, a principal department was formed to support the work of the commission.
In 1991, the Michigan Women's Commission was transferred to the department from the Michigan Department of Management and Budget by the Governor's Executive Order. [3]
By 1998, the department also housed the Indian Affairs Commission, and the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs. [2]
In April 2011, Governor Rick Snyder transferred from the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth to the Department the Commission on Disability Concerns, the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission and Hispanic/Latino Commission. [4] The Hispanic/Latino Commission (formerly known as the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs) and the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission were transferred to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) by Executive Order in 2016.
In February 2013, the department filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against 35 Michigan high districts that use "American Indian mascots, names, nicknames, slogans, chants and/or imagery". [5] The Education Department dismissed the case using the previously established 'hostile environment' standard. [6]
Over the years, MDCR has produced a number of issue papers and policy documents. Beginning in 2006 through 2017, a series of reports on migrant and seasonal farmworkers were completed. In January 2013, the department issued the Report on LGBT Inclusion Under Michigan Law for the commission to review. [7]
In 2014, the department blocked the Twitter account then being used by Barack Obama from following its own Twitter account. [8]
The same year, an "uproar" occurred after the civil rights commission, which oversees the department, unanimously voted to pay a $24,740 bonus to department executive director Agustin Arbulu in a secret meeting that violated Michigan's open meetings law. [9] [10] The commission ultimately agreed to "redo the bonus vote" in open session. [11] Arbulu rejected the bonus.
In 2018 Ira Combs, whom Michigan Radio characterized as "one of the most prominent and active anti-LGBT activists" in Michigan was appointed to the civil rights commission. The appointment was met with bipartisan concern. [12]
In November 2020, the Michigan Women's Commission was transferred to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. [13]
Michigan Government Television (MGTV) was a public affairs Government-access television (GATV) cable TV channel. Modeled on C-SPAN, its programming covered events and proceedings within the state government, including sessions of the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate.
Richard Dale Snyder is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), formerly Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, is a principal department of the U.S. state of Michigan for environmental issues. The department was created in 1995.
Michigan has a republican form of government with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the House of Representatives and Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the one court of justice. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification.
The Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is a principal department of the State of Michigan. It oversees the military components and veterans services for the State. The military components are the Michigan National Guard and Michigan Volunteer Defense Force.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Michigan enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT people. Michigan in June 2024 was ranked “the most welcoming US state for LGBT individuals”. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan under the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage was legalised in accordance with 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful since July 2022, was re-affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court - under and by a 1976 statewide law, that explicitly bans discrimination "on the basis of sex". The Michigan Civil Rights Commission have also ensured that members of the LGBT community are not discriminated against and are protected in the eyes of the law since 2018 and also legally upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. In March 2023, a bill passed the Michigan Legislature by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill on March 16, 2023. In 2024, Michigan repealed “the last ban on commercial surrogacy within the US” - for individuals and couples and reformed the parentage laws, that acknowledges same sex couples and their families with children.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. The U.S. state of Michigan had previously banned the recognition of same-sex unions in any form after a popular vote added an amendment to the Constitution of Michigan in 2004. A statute enacted in 1996 also banned both the licensing of same-sex marriages and the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.
The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), originally the Department of Commerce among other names, is a principal department in the Michigan executive branch that oversees employment, professional licensing, construction, and commerce.
The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB), formerly Michigan Department of Management and Budget, is a principal department of the government of Michigan responsible for various support functions within the government.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is a public body in Hong Kong that investigates discrimination complaints and promotes equality. It was created in 1996 as the city's first semi-governmental agency focused on sex discrimination. Its scope has since been expanded to include protecting groups based on race, disability, and family status.
Financial emergency is a state of receivership for the State of Michigan's local governments.
LGBT employment discrimination in the United States is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is encompassed by the law's prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Prior to the landmark cases Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020), employment protections for LGBT people were patchwork; several states and localities explicitly prohibit harassment and bias in employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, although some only cover public employees. Prior to the Bostock decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpreted Title VII to cover LGBT employees; the EEOC determined that transgender employees were protected under Title VII in 2012, and extended the protection to encompass sexual orientation in 2015.
Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), formerly the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation, is a principal department in the Michigan executive branch with responsibility for insurance and financial institutions.
The Michigan Organization for Human Rights was a Michigan-based civil rights and anti-discrimination organization. It was founded in 1977 and disbanded in 1994, with most of its assets transferring to the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library, Affirmations LGBT community center of Ferndale, and the Triangle Foundation—which replaced MOHR as the state's LGBT civil rights organization.
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), or Public Act 453 of 1976, which went into effect in 1977, originally prohibited discrimination in Michigan only on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status" in employment, housing, education, and access to public accommodations. A ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court on July 28, 2022 expanded the scope of the law to explicitly include protections for LGBT people. Sexual orientation and gender identity were both formally codified and added to Michigan legislation officially on March 16, 2023 and became Act 6 of 2023. Other classes added to the law since passage include pregnant workers, workers who seek abortions, and hair style and texture.
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) is a principal department of the State of Michigan. The department oversees the state's programs for unemployment insurance, business growth, affordable housing, labor relations, and tourism, among others.
The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) is a state government agency which is a part of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs that functions as the central coordinating point for Michigan veterans, connecting those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families, to services and benefits throughout the state.