Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Directive to Strengthen Non-Discrimination Protections in State Employment, Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 7, 2019

Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Directive to Strengthen Non-Discrimination Protections in State Employment, Services
Directive will help Michigan grow talented workforce

LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today signed Executive Directive 2019-9 focused on assuring equal opportunity in state employment, contracting and grant and loan programs, and the provision of state services.

“If we're going to attract the talented workforce our businesses need to create jobs and grow our economy, then we’ve got to get on the right side of history,” said Whitmer. “That’s what this executive directive is all about. By strengthening non-discrimination protections in state government employment, contracting, and services, we will make Michigan a model of equal opportunity and build a more welcoming and inclusive state that works for everyone.

Executive Directive 2019-9 strengthens non-discrimination protections in four important ways by:

1. Clarifying that employment protections cover all state employees, including classified and unclassified employees.
2. Requiring all recipients of state contracts, grants and loans to extend protections to their employees.
3. Prohibiting discrimination in state services.
4. Extending prohibitions on discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression – which will now be consistent with the action taken by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission in May, 2018.

Under the directive, each director of a principal state department and head of an autonomous agency subject to supervision by the Governor must designate an individual within the department or agency as an Equity and Inclusion Officer to educate employees about the directive and ensure compliance. Each Equity and Inclusion Officer will receive complaints about noncompliance and make recommendations on how to remedy the issue to the department director or agency head – and they will report to the Governor’s Chief Compliance Officer.

With Executive Directive 2019-9, Michigan joins other states such as Montana, Louisiana, Virginia, and Pennsylvania in extending these protections.

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