Airport Experience® News - ACDBE Issue 2025

THE DBE PROGRAM CHALLENGE Legal Case May Have Repercussions For ACDBE Program

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN

A spate of lawsuits filed in recent years that aims to eliminate programs aimed at providing minority- and women owned businesses with the opportunity to compete for federally funded contracts has brushed up against airports, with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program being one of the latest targets. The lawsuit, filed in October 2023 by Mid-America Milling Co. LLC and Bagshaw Trucking , pits those firms against the USDOT as they argue that DBE goals amount to discriminatory barriers against firms not certified for those programs. The lawsuit contends that the DBE goals prevent them from competing for contracts on an equal footing.

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AX NEWS JUNE 2025

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