The DOT has agreed to settle a case challenging the constitutionality of its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, effectively barring women- and minority-owned companies from automatic inclusion in the initiative. In a joint motion filed May 28 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky that still needs a judge’s approval, DOT agreed to no longer defend gender and race as presupposed qualifications for inclusion in the program. “USDOT has determined that the race- and sex-based presumptions in its DBE program can no longer pass constitutional scrutiny,” the agency wrote in court documents. The settlement also still needs to be granted by the judge in the case. Beyond that, Democracy Forward, a liberal advocacy group that has been a vocal legal challenger to President Donald Trump’s policies during both of his terms, recently won a minor victory in gaining approval to intervene in the case, which is still ongoing. “The participation in this case is essential to allowing minority- and women-owned businesses to fight for themselves and their communities, and we are pleased that the court will allow their voices to be heard, said Sarah von der Lippe, counsel for the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund in a May 21 Democracy Forward news release praising that decision. Whatever the ultimate outcome of the case, the DBE’s future administration will likely be dramatically curtailed and increasingly complex, according to Slottee.
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/dot-race-gender-dbe-settlement/749536/