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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL), in partnership with Zimolong LLC and Mitchell Law PLLC, announced a major win for equal treatment under the law after the city of Philadelphia agreed to eliminate race- and sex-based quotas and end its discriminatory union-membership requirements in public contracting.
Under the settlement, the city of Philadelphia has agreed to rewrite its Project Labor Agreements to make its previously imposed “diversity goals” strictly aspirational—neither quotas nor mandatory minimums. No contractor can be disqualified for failing to meet demographic targets, and the city may no longer pressure unions to discriminate on account of race or sex. The message is clear: discrimination under any name—including “equity”—has no place in public contracting.
For years, the city of Philadelphia compelled its contractors and subcontractors to sign “Project Labor Agreements” that forced employees of city contractors to join city-approved unions and imposed racial and gender quotas on public projects. These mandates penalized law-abiding contractors that refused to play by the city’s “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) rules, as well as nonunion contractors and contractors affiliated with unions such as the United Steelworkers. The plaintiffs challenged these unconstitutional and discriminatory practices, and this settlement ensures they will never return.
The implications reach far beyond Philadelphia. This settlement sends a warning to cities and states still enforcing DEI quotas—these schemes violate federal law and will not withstand legal scrutiny.
“This settlement restores equal treatment under the law,” said Nick Barry, Senior Counsel for America First Legal. “The Constitution does not permit governments to divide people by race or sex, no matter how they rebrand it. Philadelphia’s reversal is a victory for the rule of law, for fairness, and for every American who rightly believes in merit over ideology.”
America First Legal will continue its work nationwide to dismantle unlawful DEI regimes, defend the Constitution, and ensure that equality before the law remains the foundation of American government.
Read the settlement here.
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