For Immediate Release

Mt. Pleasant, MI - In a newly released resolution introduced at today's quarterly convening of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, the Commission unanimously approved, "The Michigan Civil Rights Commission's Resolution on the Intersection of Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, and Other Laws Under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Options for Resolution." The resolution pertains to laws that allow for an exemption based on religion, national origin, age, height, weight, or sex.

In comments delivered during the introduction of the resolution, Commissioner Zenna Elhasan said, "At its core, this resolution is about ensuring that the Commission and the Department have clear, neutral, and transparent processes for addressing circumstances in which the civil rights protections we are charged with enforcing intersect with other rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution, the Michigan Constitution, and Michigan law."

"This resolution will modernize processes for requesting exemptions to civil rights law based on the legitimate needs of a business as it relates to Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications, petitions for declaratory rulings, and more," said Commission Chair Luke Londo. "We're grateful to Commissioner Elhasan and the Rules Committee for leading on this issue as part of our ongoing work to strengthen our processes and better protect the civil rights of Michigan residents."

The full resolution is available on the Department's website.

In addition, the Commission announced its meeting schedule for the upcoming year, with most locations to be decided at the first meeting of 2027. The approved schedule is:

• Monday, January 25, 2027 (Detroit)
• Monday, April 26, 2027
• Monday, July 26, 2027
• Monday, October 25, 2027

The full Commission meeting can be found on MDCR's YouTube page.

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The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution to safeguard constitutional and legal guarantees against discrimination. The Commission is charged with investigating alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race (including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, national origin, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, familial status, height, weight, arrest record, disability, and source of income in housing cases. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights serves as the operational arm of the Commission. Find more information on the Michigan Department of Civil Rights at michigan.gov/mdcr.