- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the State of Michigan on January 22, 2026, alleging that Michigan’s ban on the sale of eggs produced by hens that do not meet certain animal welfare standards is preempted by the federal Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA).
- The Michigan law, among other things, requires Michigan farmers to house hens in cage-free housing systems. Businesses selling eggs are expected to obtain written confirmation from their suppliers that the eggs were produced in environments that comply with the Michigan law.
- Notably, the DOJ lawsuit does not challenge the authority of Michigan to impose housing requirements for animals raised within the state, but rather only challenges the sales ban, applicable to eggs produced out of state, which it argues “impermissibly imposes standards of quality and condition on eggs themselves” which creates “additional, or different requirements for what constitutes safe, wholesome, and unadulterated eggs entering interstate commerce.”
- A similar lawsuit was filed against California last year. In contrast to these lawsuits which are based on statutory preemption arguments, the failed challenge to California’s Proposition 12 in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross (2023) was based on the argument that the state law impermissibly burdened interstate commerce, an argument based on an implicit restriction in the constitution referred to as the “Dormant Commerce Clause.”
