ABC Sues to Block Labor Dept. Affirmative-Action Rules

The Associated Builders and Contractors has filed a lawsuit that aims to halt Dept. of Labor final rules for federal contractors in hiring veterans and people with disabilities. ABC's lawsuit, filed on Nov. 19 in federal district court in Washington, D.C., seeks to enjoin parts of the rules, which are to take effect March 24. Geoff Burr, ABC vice president of federal affairs, said the agency exceeded its authority and set "wasteful and burdensome" requirements in collecting data and keeping records.

The Associated General Contractors was able to persuade DOL to make 37 "significant changes" to an earlier proposed version, says Mike Kennedy, AGC general counsel. The final rules "are more burdensome than the old ones," he adds, but they "did not rise to the level [at which] we thought litigation was warranted."

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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