{"id":33731,"date":"2008-03-26T16:35:41","date_gmt":"2008-03-26T21:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/uncategorized\/the-new-dot-dbe-rule-is-narrowly-tailored.html"},"modified":"2008-03-26T16:35:41","modified_gmt":"2008-03-26T21:35:41","slug":"the-new-dot-dbe-rule-is-narrowly-tailored","status":"publish","type":"corporate","link":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/human-resources\/the-new-dot-dbe-rule-is-narrowly-tailored.html","title":{"rendered":"The New DOT DBE Rule is Narrowly Tailored"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline\">\n    <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-content\">\n                    <p><em>This article was edited and reviewed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team.html\" rel=\"noopener\">FindLaw Attorney Writers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n                | Last reviewed\n        <time>\n                            May 10, 2026\n                    <\/time>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <details class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle fl-gutenberg-byline-legally-reviewed\">\n        <summary>\n            <i class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n            Legally Reviewed\n        <\/summary>\n\n        <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle-content\">\n            <p><em>This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team.html\" rel=\"noopener\">FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/company-history\/editorial-policy.html\" rel=\"noopener\">our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle fl-gutenberg-byline-fast-checked\">\n        <summary>\n            <i class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n            Fact-Checked\n        <\/summary>\n\n        <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle-content\">\n            <p><em>The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team\/contributing-authors.html\" rel=\"noopener\">contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please <a href=\"https:\/\/lawyers.findlaw.com\/?fli=bylinelink\" rel=\"noopener\">contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"rxbodyfield\" xmlns:o=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/office\" xmlns:st1=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/smarttags\" xmlns:w=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/word\" xmlns:x=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/excel\"><table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"10\" cellspacing=\"10\" width=\"620\"><tr><td><p><b><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">THE NEW DOT DBE RULE IS NARROWLY TAILORED<\/font><\/b><\/p><p><b>Under the Supreme Court.s <u>Adarand<\/u> decision, an affirmative action program like the DOT DBE program must be narrowly tailored. This chart displays how the provisions of the new DOT DBE rule meet each of the narrow tailoring requirements that the Supreme Court has established.<\/b><\/p><table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"5\" cellspacing=\"1\" width=\"576\"><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><b><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Narrow Tailoring Requirements<\/font><\/b><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><b><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Final Rule Provisions<\/font><\/b><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Determination of goals by reference to the availability of qualified<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">firms in the relevant industries<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Overall goals represent the level of DBE participation a recipient would expect absent discrimination, and must be based on evidence of the availability of ready, willing and able DBEs in the local market area<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Use of race-neutral alternatives<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Contract goals are not required on every contract. Recipients must meet as much as possible of their overall goals by using race-neutral measures, like outreach and technical assistance. They should use race-conscious measures, like contract goals, only to make up the difference.<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Limit use of rigid numerical mechanisms used to remedy discrimination<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Quotas are flatly prohibited. The use of set-asides is strictly limited to circumstances dealing with especially egregious cases of discrimination where no other mechanism has worked to remedy the situation.<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Availability of waiver mechanisms<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Regulatory requirements: Recipients may apply for a program waiver to carry out their DBE programs in innovative ways.<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Contract goals: A contract goal is waived if bidder demonstrates good faith efforts to meet the goal.<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Use of factors other than race in determining program eligibility<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Eligibility is based on social and economic disadvantage. To ensure that only genuinely disadvantaged individuals participate, there is a $750,000 personal net worth cap.<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">The certification of any firm is subject to challenge by recipients, DOT, and third parties.<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Simplification of certification process and eligibility standards for white males.<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Duration of the program and periodic review<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Program must be reauthorized by Congress in 2004.<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Firms leave program if they grow too large; individuals leave the program if they become too wealthy.<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Degree of burden on non-DBEs<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Recipients must fashion measures to address over-concentration of DBEs in a given field, if it becomes a problem.<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">New certification provisions reduce burdens on all participants<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Other aspects of narrow tailoring<\/font><\/p><\/td><td valign=\"TOP\" width=\"50%\"><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Recipients have flexibility to craft their own goal-setting mechanisms to reflect local conditions and use the best locally available data.<\/font><\/p><p><font face=\"Palatino,Arial Narrow\">Certification standards have been improved, with ownership and control tests more focused, to make sure program is not over-inclusive.<\/font><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>    Determination of goals by reference to the availability of qualified firms in the relevant industries Overall goals represent the level of DBE participation a recipient would expect absent discrimination, and must be based on evidence of the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"corporate_categories":[6487,6486],"class_list":["post-33731","corporate","type-corporate","status-publish","hentry","corporate_categories-human-resources__employment-laws","corporate_categories-human-resources"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate\/33731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/corporate"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"corporate_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_categories?post=33731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}