最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Airport officials are asking contractors in its minority and disadvantaged business programs to provide evidence of discrimination they have suffered, in the latest change born of the Trump administration鈥檚 opposition to diversity initiatives.

最新杏吧原创 Lambert International Airport is reevaluating all the companies it certified through the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs after the U.S. Department of Transportation issued new guidelines last week saying discrimination cannot solely be based on race or sex.

Companies now are required to submit a 鈥減ersonal narrative鈥� that details specific examples of how they suffered economic harm compared to other, 鈥渘on-disadvantaged鈥� businesses to maintain their certifications, according to an email sent this week from a 最新杏吧原创 Lambert International Airport assistant director.

A spokesman for the airport declined to comment, saying the organization is a waiting additional guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration鈥檚 Office of Civil Rights.

Contractors say the new guidelines are confusing and they are not sure how to provide evidence of things they do not have access to, such as what financing terms 鈥渘on-disadvantaged鈥� companies received.

Civil rights organizations, including both 最新杏吧原创 and 最新杏吧原创 County NAACP chapters, decried the changes, saying they will lead to inconsistencies among recertifications across the country and will restrict access to growth for minority- and women-owned businesses.

鈥淏y shifting the burden of proof onto minority and disadvantaged business owners with these deeply subjective requirements, the federal government risks reviving old discriminatory barriers under the guise of 鈥榥eutrality,鈥欌�� said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St Louis City NAACP. 鈥淭his new rule isn鈥檛 about merit. It鈥檚 about denying progress and access, rolling back decades of hard-won gains for minority entrepreneurs across the country.鈥�

The changes were issued as the airport is planning a $2.8 billion renovation that will consolidate the two passenger terminals into one larger facility.

The new requirements follow similar challenges to other diversity business programs since President Donald Trump came into office in January.

City officials this summer paused 最新杏吧原创鈥� minority contracting program after the Justice Department threatened to claw back federal funding for those that did not comply with Trump鈥檚 efforts to dismantle diversity initiatives among taxpayer-supported agencies and private businesses. Mayor Cara Spencer restarted the program last month with new rules intended to guard against legal challenges.

A spokesman for Spencer said the local and federal programs are different, and the new DOT guidelines will not impact the city鈥檚 program.

Since coming into office for his second term, Trump has sought to eliminate diversity initiatives across public and private sectors, calling diversity, equity and inclusion efforts 鈥渞adical鈥� and 鈥渉armful.鈥� The administration largely has followed the blueprint established in Project 2025, an effort to reshape the federal government that was authored by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and officials from Trump鈥檚 first administration.

鈥淭his is political scapegoating,鈥� John Bowman, president of NAACP 最新杏吧原创 County and an airport commissioner, said of the changes to the programs. 鈥淚t will have a devastating impact on minority and women-owned businesses.鈥�

The federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program was created in 1983 during the Reagan administration to level the playing field for small businesses by reducing barriers to DOT contracts with opportunities for subcontractors.

Only small, independent businesses, owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals can be certified under these programs. Most who are certified are selected as subcontractors for DOT projects under a range of industries, including construction, janitorial services, concessions, even communication firms.

Each state is responsible for certification and conducting its own disparity study on local demographics to determine what percentage of contracts could have minority- or women-participation.

Contractors are not required to use minority- or women-owned firms, though they typically have to show a 鈥済ood-faith effort鈥� they tried to find qualified subcontractors.

From 2015 to 2019, Lambert a median DBE-participation rate of 28%. It proposed a 20% goal for 2026 through 2028, .

Federal officials estimate the new guidelines will cause a 10% drop in the number of certified firms. About 41,000 companies across the country currently are certified under the transportation programs. Officials also expect the reevaluation process to cost the federal government $92 million.

Nearly 2,000 local companies are certified with Lambert, according to a Post-Dispatch review of the directory.

Francoise Lyles-Wiggins, Lambert鈥檚 assistant director for business diversity and development, told contractors in an email this week that their personal narratives will have to show a 鈥減reponderance of the evidence鈥� of when they faced economic hardship and systemic barriers, as well as when they were denied financing on terms available to similar but 鈥渘on-disadvantaged鈥� companies.

The language mirrors that oversee the programs.

鈥淪tate how and when the impediments caused the owner economic harm, including a full description of type and magnitude, and establish the owner is economically disadvantaged in fact relative to similarly situated non-disadvantaged individuals,鈥� according to the email.

Those with questions are encouraged to contact Lambert鈥檚 Office of Business Opportunities or in person. No appointment is necessary, a spokesman said.