Affirmative action in Michigan

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On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed lower court decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, effectively ending the use of affirmative action in college admissions. This article does not receive scheduled updates. If you have any questions or comments, contact us.

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Affirmative action in Michigan refers to the steps taken by employers and universities in Michigan to increase the proportions of historically disadvantaged minority groups at those institutions. Historically, affirmative action nationwide has taken many different forms, such as strict quotas, extra outreach efforts, and racial and gender preferences. However, racial quotas in university admissions were banned in a 1978 United States Supreme Court case, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed lower court decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, effectively ending the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

As of March 2015, 109 out of 577 public four-year universities across the country reported that they considered race in admissions. This practice has been banned in eight states. Meanwhile, 28 states require affirmative action plans in either public employment or apprenticeships. Affirmative action programs that grant racial preferences have come under scrutiny in the courts for potentially violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The following information details the use of affirmative action in universities and employment in Michigan, as well as notable court cases originating in the state.

HIGHLIGHTS

Michigan is one of eight states that have banned racial preferences in university admissions and public employment.

The effects of affirmative action policies are contested. Proponents argue that affirmative action diversifies selective institutions and provides more opportunities to minorities. Opponents argue that implementing policies that favor some groups requires discrimination against others and that these policiesmay harm individuals they are meant to help.

Background

The first reference to affirmative action was made by President John F. Kennedy (D) in 1961 in an executive order directing government contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." While there had previously been efforts by the federal government to end racial discrimination, the order marked the first instance of an active approach to promoting equal opportunity.

Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act, July 2, 1964

As the Civil Rights Movement grew, the federal government took on an increasing role in preventing discrimination and bolstering minority numbers in workplaces and universities. President Lyndon Johnson (D) signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark piece of legislation that prohibited discrimination against any individual based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. However, some still felt that preventing discrimination was not enough, so President Johnson issued an executive order that created the means to enforce affirmative action policies for the first time. Of their own initiative, many colleges and universities nationwide also adopted affirmative action policies to increase minority enrollment.

The use of affirmative action programs was initially intended to be temporary. However, over time the goals of affirmative action policies shifted from equality of opportunity to the achievement of equal representation and outcomes for minorities at all levels of society, a more ambiguous target. Furthermore, lawsuits have been brought against institutions utilizing affirmative action policies, citing violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court ruled that promoting diversity, rather than compensating for historical injustices, is the constitutional goal of affirmative action. In its 2013 ruling on affirmative action in Fisher v. University of Texas, the court also placed the burden on universities to prove that no viable race-neutral alternatives exist when they use racial preferences in admissions to increase diversity.

In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, the Supreme Court effectively ended race-based considerations in college admissions in a June 29, 2023, decision. The ruling explicitly allowed national service academies to continue considering race as a factor in admissions for reasons of national security.

Michigan Civil Rights Amendment

The Michigan Civil Rights Amendment appeared on the ballot in the November 7, 2006 election. The question was referred to the ballot as a citizen initiated constitutional amendment, proposing to ban preferential treatment and discrimination in public education, employment and contracting. Voters approved the amendment by over 550,000 votes, making Michigan the fourth state to enact such a measure. The approved ballot measure added a new section to Michigan's state constitution, Section 26 of Article I.

The amendment was challenged by the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. In 2011, a three-panel federal appeals court overturned the amendment, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. In April 2014, the United States Supreme Court overturned the decision of the two lower courts, ruling that voters had the right to prohibit preferential treatment and affirmative action in the public sphere.

Key terms

The following terms are helpful in understanding affirmative action policy:

• Discrimination refers to the unequal treatment of some individuals or groups based on federally-protected traits, such as age, race/ethnicity and gender.
• Preferential treatment occurs when an applicant is more likely to be selected than another applicant with similar or better qualifications due to other factors, such as race and ethnicity.
• Reverse discrimination is, according to Dictionary.com, unequal treatment or discrimination based on protected traits of "members of majority groups resulting from preferential policies" favoring historically disadvantaged groups, with the intent of remedying past societal discrimination.
• Equal employment opportunity is a commitment employers make to refrain from employment practices that are discriminatory, either directly (disparate treatment) or indirectly (disparate impact). According to Study.com, an equal employment opportunity policy is intended to ensure that "certain classes of people who have been discriminated against in the past are not subjected to adverse treatment" based on protected traits.
• Diversity means the representation of individuals of a variety of backgrounds in terms of characteristics such as national origin, race and ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.
• The mismatch effect refers to the theory that when an elite school extends a large preference to a student due to his race, athletic ability or connection to alumni, that student is less prepared for the rigor of the classes and suffers academically, though that student would perhaps thrive at a somewhat less elite school.
• Racial quotas are hiring or admissions policies requiring that a specified number or percentage of minority group members be hired or admitted. In 1978, the United States Supreme Court outlawed the use of strict racial quotas.
• Ratchet effect/cascade effect refers to a phenomenon in which actors do not have an incentive to improve a situation even if they easily could.

University admissions

See also: Higher education in Michigan

Affirmative action in university admissions is a separate matter from affirmative action in employment that operates under different rules and regulations. Federal law requires government contractors and other departments and agencies receiving federal funding to develop and implement affirmative action plans for the hiring process. Public colleges and universities are considered federal contractors and must utilize affirmative action in their employment practices. However, many private colleges and universities across the country have also implemented similar measures in their admissions processes. These actions are typically voluntary, although a handful of states have adopted rules that require state universities to take affirmative action in admissions.

Affirmative action admissions programs were undertaken by public and private universities alike, beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s. Some universities initially established quotas in order to achieve a demographically diverse student body; these quotas were outlawed by the United States Supreme Court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke in 1978. Today, a common form of affirmative action in college admissions is that of racial preferences. A preference occurs when a group of applicants is more likely to be admitted than other applicants with similar or better qualifications due to other factors, such as race or ethnicity. Preferences are also sometimes extended towards women, athletes, and children of alumni. The use of racial preferences may be related to college selectivity: scholars such as law professor Richard Sander have found that preferences are strongest at elite institutions.

Eight states have enacted laws banning the consideration of race in university admissions. As of March 2015, Michigan was one of these states. In 2006, voters approved the Michigan Civil Rights Amendment, which amended Article I of the Michigan Constitution to prohibit preferential treatment or discrimination in public university admissions. Due to the ban, of 15 public four-year universities in Michigan, none reported considering race in admissions, as indicated in the chart below.

Consideration of race at public four-year universities in Michigan
School	Race/Ethnicity is...				School selectivity*
	Very important	Important	Considered	Not considered
Central Michigan University					Somewhat selective
Eastern Michigan University					Somewhat selective
Ferris State University					Less selective
Grand Valley State University					Less selective
Lake Superior State University					Less selective
Michigan State University					Somewhat selective
Michigan Technological University					Less selective
Northern Michigan University					N/A
Oakland University					Somewhat selective
Saginaw Valley State University					Less selective
University of Michigan					Very selective
University of Michigan: Dearborn					Somewhat selective
University of Michigan: Flint					Less selective
Wayne State University					Less selective
Western Michigan University					Less selective
Sources: The College Board, "Big Future," accessed March 30, 2015. Reproduced with permission. College Data, "College 411," accessed March 30, 2015 *Note: This scale of college selectivity comes from The College Board and is measured as follows: Most selective, less than 25 percent admitted; Very selective, 25 percent to 50 percent admitted; Somewhat selective, 50 percent to 75 percent admitted; Less selective, more than 75 percent admitted; Open admission, all or most admitted.

About the data

Information on which colleges consider race in admissions came from individual college profiles provided by two websites that aim to assist students in choosing a college: The College Board and CollegeData. Such information was reported to The College Board by the colleges themselves. Note that schools may have updated their policies since reporting them. To see the data: College Board: Click the link to the college's profile provided in the table below. Click "Applying" on the side menu and scroll down. Listed will be several criteria of admission into the college, separated by importance. If Race/Ethnicity is not listed, it was not reported as considered by the college's admissions officers. CollegeData: Click the link to the college's profile provided in the table below. Scroll down to the section titled "Selection of Students" to see a chart of admission criteria ranked from "Very Important" to "Not Considered." Click for links to school profiles School School profiles School School profiles College Board College Data College Board College Data Central Michigan University Link Link Eastern Michigan University Link Link Ferris State University Link Link Grand Valley State University Link Link Lake Superior State University Link Link Michigan State University Link Link Michigan Technological University Link Link Northern Michigan University Link Link Oakland University Link Link Saginaw Valley State University Link Link University of Michigan Link Link University of Michigan: Dearborn Link Link University of Michigan: Flint Link Link Wayne State University Link Link Western Michigan University Link Link

Employment

According to Business and Legal Resources, 28 states have passed their own laws requiring the development of affirmative action plans by state employers or apprenticeship programs. Affirmative action plans are management tools that outline efforts made to increase the proportions of minorities at a company or institution. Such plans typically contain the following:

• numerical analysis of the percentage of minorities employed versus the percentage in the labor pool,
• identification of areas where there is "underutilization" of minorities, or a discrepancy between the above percentages, and
• "specific practical steps" the employer will take to correct this discrepancy.

In Michigan, Article I, Section 26 of the Michigan Constitution prohibits preferential treatment and discrimination in state employment and contracting. The section was added by Michigan Civil Rights Amendment in 2006. The amendment does not, however, prevent agencies and organizations that receive federal funding from utilizing affirmative action programs according to federal law.

See law: Article I, Section 26, Michigan Constitution

In addition, Michigan has a nondiscrimination law, which identifies the following as protected traits in addition to those protected by federal law:

“

Race Color National origin Religion Sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions) Disability: physical or mental Age Genetic information Marital status AIDS/HIV Height or weight Misdemeanor arrest record

”

The state's nondiscrimination law applies to all employers with at least one employee and is enforced by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

Federal requirements

Federal contractors and agencies in Michigan that receive funding from the United States government are subject to federal law that requires them to adopt affirmative action plans.

Additionally, the following federal laws may apply to any company that meets certain conditions:

• Employers with at least four employees must adhere to the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
• Employers with at least 15 employees must adhere to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
• Employers with at least 20 employees must adhere to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
• Employers with any number of employees must adhere to the Equal Pay Act.

Federal nondiscrimination and affirmative action laws in Michigan are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Court cases

Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education

In the 1980s, the contract between the school board of Jackson, Michigan and the teachers' union (a) protected teachers with the most seniority from layoffs and (b) prevented the percentage of teachers laid off who were minorities from being greater than the percentage of minorities employed under the contract. During layoffs over subsequent years, some nonminority teachers were laid off, while minority teachers with less seniority were kept on. Wendy Wygant, a nonminority teacher who was laid off, filed suit against the board with the allegation that such layoffs violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan found in favor of the board, upholding the contract on the grounds that the board's racial preferences "remedied discrimination by providing 'role models' for minority students." On appeal, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.

The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in 1985. In its opinion issued May 19, 1986, the court struck down the decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, stating that the board laid off Wygant for reasons related to her race and in doing so, violated the Equal Protection Clause. The court found that the school board's layoff policy did not meet the two standards of strict scrutiny: (1) its justification for the policy (that "the percentage of minority students exceeded the percentage of minority teachers") did not serve a compelling state interest, and (2) the policy was not narrowly tailored (applied in such a way to fulfill only very specific goals) because it did not correctly remedy historical discrimination: the loss of a job due to discrimination was more harmful than denial of a job due to discrimination, the court said.

Gratz v. Bollinger

University of Michigan undergraduate campus

The University of Michigan used points scale to rank applicants, with 100 points needed to guarantee admission. The niversity gave an automatic 20-point bonus toward admission to underrepresented minorities. For comparison, the university awarded five points to applicants with extraordinary artistic talent. Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, both white residents of Michigan, applied for admission to the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). Gratz applied for admission in the fall of 1995 and Hamacher in the fall of 1997. Both were subsequently denied admission to the university.

In October 1997, Gratz and Hamacher filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against the University of Michigan and Lee Bollinger, the university president at the time, claiming the policy violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court ruled that the admissions policy in effect from 1995 to 1998 was not narrowly tailored, but that the policy in effect during 1999 and 2000 was. Furthermore, it ruled that the latter policy served a "compelling interest" in increasing the diversity on campus.

The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in conjunction with Grutter v. Bollinger. In its opinion issued June 23, 2003, the court upheld diversity as a compelling state interest that can justify the consideration of race in admissions. However, it struck down the rigid points system of the university. Because such a points system was not individualized, it did not meet the qualification of being "narrowly tailored" to achieve its purpose and was therefore unconstitutional. The court held that the policy violated both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause.

Grutter v. Bollinger

University of Michigan Law School

In 1996, Barbara Grutter, a white woman with a 3.8 grade point average and 161 Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score, applied to the University of Michigan Law School. Unlike the undergraduate school, the law school did not award a fixed number of points for race and ethnicity on applications. However, the law school did consider race in order to achieve a "critical mass" of diversity in the student body. When Grutter was rejected, she filed a lawsuit against the law school, claiming its consideration of race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The law school, represented by Lee Bollinger, the university president at the time, claimed its policy was within the legal bounds set in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.

Lee Bollinger

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that there was no compelling interest in achieving diversity and that Bakke had not set a binding precedent. To the court, the "critical mass" goal was the equivalent of a quota, and it ordered the university to end its consideration of race. The case was appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed all parts of the district court's opinion and upheld the university's consideration of race. The case was further appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which agreed to hear oral arguments in conjunction with Gratz v. Bollinger.

While striking down the policy of the undergraduate school in Gratz, the Supreme Court upheld the law school's consideration of race. The court ruled that the law school's policy was highly individualized and therefore not in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. As long as the law school considered race as one factor among many to determine the "possible diversity contributions of all applicants," the admissions policy was legal.

Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action

The Michigan Civil Rights Amendment, a ballot initiative, was approved by voters in the November 2006 election. The amendment banned discrimination and preferential treatment in public education, employment and contracting. In response, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigration Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary filed a lawsuit the very next day against then-Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) and "the regents and boards of trustees of three state universities" in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The group claimed that the prohibition of racial preferences in public education violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Mike Cox (R), Attorney General of Michigan at the time, intervened as defendant for the state.

The district court upheld the Michigan Civil Rights Amendment as constitutional in its decision, which was appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. By the time of the appeals trial, an election had taken place so that the state was now represented by Attorney General Bill Schuette (R). The court of appeals reversed the decision of the lower court, stating that the amendment altered the political process in an impermissible way. As part of its reasoning, the court compared the process of effecting change for a student seeking to enact legacy preferences at a public university, and a black student seeking to enact racial preferences. According to the court, the student seeking legacy preferences had several courses of action available, including lobbying the admissions committee or appealing to the school's governing board. By contrast, due to the amendment, a black student seeking racial preferences had only one course of action: amending the Michigan Constitution. The court declared this to be an unfair burden that violated the "Equal Protection Clause's guarantee that all citizens ought to have equal access to the tools of political change." Furthermore, the court stated that voters cannot take away the right of universities established by Grutter to "even consider using race as a factor in admissions decisions."

The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on appeal, and issued its opinion on April 22, 2014. The court ruled that the amendment was not a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and that voters have the right to allow or prohibit the use of racial preferences and race-conscious admissions. It was not up to unelected members of the court to restrict the right of citizens of a state to make decisions through the democratic process. An attempt to "protect interests based on race" would subvert such a process and perpetuate racism rather than dismantle it.

Public opinion

National public opinion polls on affirmative action have yielded mixed results over the past few years. Results found by researchers seem to depend largely on how the question is worded. In particular, support drops considerably when the word "preferences" is included in the question. Supporters of affirmative action are more likely to do so to increase diversity rather than compensate for past injustice.

Opinions also change when the question refers to college admissions specifically, and support and opposition are somewhat divided on racial lines, with black Americans being far more likely to favor affirmative action. In general, support for affirmative action has dropped since its peak in the early 1990s, when a poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal found that 61 percent of Americans thought that affirmative action policies were still needed, compared to 45 percent in June 2013.

Support

Common reasons stated for supporting affirmative action include the following:

• Diversity is valuable for any workplace or college campus.
• Minority enrollment in college would fall dramatically without affirmative action.
• Affirmative action provides the extra push to disadvantaged students that is needed to succeed.
• By providing minorities with new opportunities, affirmative action may introduce them to other interests they would not have discovered otherwise.
• Affirmative action is necessary to break stereotypes.
• Affirmative action compensates for past injustices.

Opposition

Common arguments stated against affirmative action include the following:

• Affirmative action policies have caused "reverse discrimination" against whites.
• According to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, affirmative action is unconstitutional.
• Since standards are lowered by preferential treatment, minorities only aim for those lower standards.
• Affirmative action causes a "mismatch effect" of underqualified students, leading to their failure at elite schools.
• Affirmative action is demeaning and condescending to minority achievement.
• It is too difficult to end affirmative action policies after they have been enacted, even when discrimination is no longer an issue.

Agencies

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is "responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information." These federal laws typically apply to workplaces with 15 or more employees. The EEOC operates field offices in 15 districts. Michigan is served primarily by the Indianapolis District Office. See the table below for further information about EEOC field offices serving Michigan.

EEOC field offices serving Michigan
Office	Location	Website
Indianapolis District Office	Indianapolis, Indiana	Link
Detroit Field office	Detroit, Michigan	Link
Cincinnati Area Office	Cincinnati, Ohio	Link
Louisville Area Office	Louisville, Kentucky	Link

In addition, states and localities may have their own anti-discrimination laws. Separate agencies, designated by the EEOC as Fair Employment Practices Agencies, are responsible for enforcing these laws. In Michigan, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights is a designated Fair Employment Practices Agency. See the table below for further information about this office.

Fair Employment Practices Agencies in Michigan
Office	Location	Phone number	Website
Michigan Department of Civil Rights	Lansing, Michigan	(517) 335-3165	Link

Affirmative action and anti-discrimination legislation

The following is a list of recent affirmative action and anti-discrimination bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Michigan state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

See also

• Affirmative action
• Affirmative action on the ballot
• Higher education in Michigan
• Fourteenth Amendment
• Civil Liberties Policy

External links

• Michigan Department of Civil Rights
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission