In September, a federal district court in Kentucky ruled that the race- and gender-based contracting preferences used in the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program violate the United States Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The judge ruled that the rebuttal presumption of economic or social disadvantage for certain classifications of individuals under the DBE program failed to pass the scrutiny required by courts following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Harvard affirmative action case, and that the solutions pursued in the DBE program are not narrowly tailored to desired outcomes.

The court’s decision is the latest in a series of challenges to race and gender classifications in government programs at the federal and state level. The ultimate outcomes of these cases may disrupt longstanding procurement frameworks and force public agencies and the contracting community to significantly modify their approaches.

In this online program, participants will hear from experts in transportation and infrastructure procurement and federal regulatory compliance on the latest court decisions and how U.S. DOT and other public agencies may need to adjust their DBE programs. Topics will include the federal constitutional standards, recent court decisions, potential outcomes and timelines for future judicial decisions. Participants will learn how judicial scrutiny will impact how DBE programs are structured and implemented, and what changes may be necessary to satisfy these legal standards. These insights will equip DBE firm owners as well as large firm contractors to be prepared to navigate this shifting landscape.

Learning objectives:

• Gain a basic understanding of constitutional standards for how courts analyze race-based and gender-based contracting preferences and other programs
• Understand how those legal standards may impact current DBE programs and what changes the public agencies might need to consider
• Anticipate various scenarios and timelines for program restructuring at the federal and state level
• Consider the implications for A/E firm business structures and contracting strategies