News & Analysis as of

Department of Transportation (DOT) Affirmative Action

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

The demise of disadvantaged business enterprises

The U.S. DOT agrees to end contract goals for DBEs. In 1983, Congress enacted the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, which requires that the Department of Transportation spend ten percent of federal highway...more

PilieroMazza PLLC

DBE Program in Peril: Recent Legal Challenges and What They Mean for Women- and Minority-Owned Contractors

PilieroMazza PLLC on

Recent legal challenges jeopardize the future of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, a long-standing initiative designed to support minority- and women-owned businesses in...more

Cozen O'Connor

Is this the End of the Small Business Set Aside Programs? DOT Issues New Guidance Letter

Cozen O'Connor on

On April 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary, Sean P. Duffy, issued a guidance letter to all grant recipients of DOT funding, notifying them of: 1. The DOT’s new interpretations of...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

OP-ED: Executive Orders Cannot Eliminate USDOT’s DBE Program

Within hours of taking office, President Trump executed two executive orders aimed at rescinding former President Biden’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)-focused orders. Trump’s orders reached beyond actions by the...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

‎90-Day Stay Requested in Mid-America Milling Co. v. U.S. DOT

The plaintiffs and the federal government seek a 90-day stay in Mid-America Milling Company v. United States Department of Transportation, Case No. 3:23-cv-00072, “to permit [the federal government] the opportunity to...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Executive Order: Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation

Holland & Knight LLP on

Date Issued: Jan. 21, 2025 This executive order suspends all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including those pertaining to recruitment and hiring, within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation

Terminates the use of diversity and inclusion practices in the Federal Aviation Administration’s hiring and recruitment processes. The Administration has issued a more comprehensive EO eliminating DEI programs, policies and...more

Potomac Law Group, PLLC

A Status Update on Pending Legal Challenges to Federal Government Contracting Diversity Programs

As many of you know, federal contracting programs aimed at leveling the playing field for diverse and women-owned businesses have been under legal attack. An incredible number of small businesses rely heavily on these...more

Winstead PC

Is DBE Contracting the Next to Fall After Affirmative Action?

Winstead PC on

In a significant ruling that could reshape federal contracting, a federal district court in the Eastern District of Kentucky has granted a preliminary injunction against key aspects of the United States Department of...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Federal Court Issues Injunction to Prevent Presumptive Gender and Race Preferences for DOT Contracts Within Kentucky and Indiana

With the recent Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action in college admissions, similar statutory presumptions of disadvantage, such as DOT’s DBE program, are susceptible to similar challenge. The Court issued a...more

Robinson+Cole Construction Law Zone

Federal DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Challenged as Unconstitutional

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) (SFFA), which limits the reach of race-based affirmative action programs in...more

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