LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – If you work for the State of Michigan, congratulations. You’ve officially been diagnosed – not with a serious illness and not because of anything you actually did – but because of something you might be thinking.

In an email from a staffer at DIFS (Department of Insurance and Financial Services), employees were reminded recently they’ve been assigned their 2026 Michigan DEI Implicit Bias Training, courtesy of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Directive 2020-09, issued in August 2020. That directive mandates biennial implicit bias training for all State of Michigan employees.

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Translation: According to the state of Michigan and the governor, every two years, it’s time for a tune- up on everyone’s racism.

Bias you didn’t know you had.

Hall explains that “implicit bias includes attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions regarding other people in an unconscious manner.” She describes it as an “unconscious preference” involving favorable and unfavorable assessments of others that is activated “involuntarily and without intention.”

So even if you didn’t mean it… you meant it. Bad you.

Implicit biases are different from “explicit” biases, also known as the ones you actually know about. The implicit ones? Those are in stealth mode until the state of Michigan uncovers them.

Some steps to mitigate bias, according to the state, include assessing your own biases and developing relationships across cross-cultural differences.

Log in, confess, and improve.

All DIFS employees are required to complete the course through the SOM Learning Center by March 27, 2026. Instructions are helpfully included – log in, click launch, complete training. Bonus tip: use Google Chrome “for the best experience.”

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The State assures employees it is “committed to ensuring an equitable and inclusive workplace.” And apparently, that starts with assuming everyone needs corrective maintenance – whether they realize it or not.