This was in response to the amendment that the Legislature made to the fair employment practices act to include a housing provision.
[1] The Minnesota Department of Human Rights was founded in 1967, to succeed the State Commission Against Discrimination.
[2] This is because new federal civil rights laws were being passed in the United States, and the state of Minnesota wished to have an official body to handle violation of these civil rights laws.
That act, with subsequent renumbering and amendments, is codified as Chapter 363A of Minnesota Statutes.
The Minnesota Human Rights Act identifies thirteen "protected classes": race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status, disability, public assistance, age, sexual orientation, and local human rights activity.