Public advisory boards for government agencies are commonplace across the country, typically helping state agencies make informed decisions to carry out their public policies and priorities.
The Minnesota Health Equity Advisory and Leadership (HEAL) Council is one such board. Legislatively created in 2018, HEAL makes recommendations on how to implement the Minnesota Department of Health’s equity plan into its policies and programs.
HEAL has 18 members, appointed to two-year terms by the Minnesota Health Department commissioner. Members can serve up to three terms, and state law requires no prerequisites for membership except one: The health commissioner must consider race when making appointments.
Specifically, HEAL membership must include representation from the following preferred racial groups: African American and African heritage communities, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, Latina/o/x communities, and American Indian communities and Tribal governments.
Forced racial balancing creates two major problems for the state. The first is difficulty filling open positions. This includes a recent, months-long effort to fill an open seat with an “Asian American or Pacific Islander” applicant, highlighting how the mandate leads to racially discriminatory practices.
The second problem is far worse. These mandates deny public service opportunities to citizens for no reason other than their race. That’s racial discrimination, pure and simple, and it’s unconstitutional.
There is no shortage of qualified Minnesotans who could serve on the Council. This includes at least one member of Do No Harm, a diverse nonprofit organization of over 14,000 physicians, healthcare professionals, medical students, patients, and policymakers committed to ensuring equality in healthcare.
Do No Harm’s Minnesota member is a physical therapy student who believes his healthcare experience would be a valuable addition to the Council. He believes HEAL members should be chosen based on their ability to advance the Council’s mission, not their immutable characteristics. But because he is not of a preferred race, he is at a profound disadvantage for any openings.
It’s wrong for the government to make assumptions about people’s experiences and qualifications based on arbitrary and offensive assumptions about race. And it’s unconstitutional.
No government official should use an individual’s race or ethnicity to determine who gets the opportunity to serve the public. Treating people differently according to immutable characteristics like race violates the very notion of equality before the law. People should be treated as individuals, not as members of a group they did not choose.
Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, Do No Harm is fighting back. Its federal lawsuit challenges the racial quota for Minnesota’s HEAL Council as violating the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. Victory would ensure an equal opportunity for all candidates to vie for Council membership, regardless of race.
Unfortunately, Minnesota is not the only state that uses immutable characteristics to limit opportunities for individuals to serve their state and local communities. A PLF report found instances in 25 states where such unconstitutional discrimination has been codified. Without action, the problem is likely to worsen. PLF is working to defeat race-based board quotas everywhere the unconstitutional practice is allowed.
What’s At Stake?
- Minnesota cannot use race to disqualify or disfavor individuals from public service. This sort of blatant discrimination is unjust, demeaning, and a clear violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
- Limiting opportunities—like public board membership—based on race violates the very notion of equality before the law. People should be treated as individuals, not as members of a group they did not choose.
