Probing In Procurement ' Recent Decisions May Prompt Review Of Supplier Diversity Programs

• Published date: 20 March 2024
• Law Firm: Littler Mendelson
• Author: Alexa Esposito Allen, Courtney Bhatt and Britney N. Torres

A Texas federal district court judge has decided that the Minority Business Development Agency's (MBDA) policies that provide financial assistance to minority-owned businesses are unconstitutional.¹ While the court's decision does not apply to private businesses that may encourage supplier diversity as part of a holistic inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D) program, companies should be aware of this development as IE&D programs evolve in the wake of the Supreme Court's holding in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) (SFFA).

Nuziard v. Minority Business Development Agency

Certain business owners who were denied or ineligible for MBDA benefits because they did not identify as members of disadvantaged races or ethnicities challenged the MBDA requirement in Nuziard v. Minority Business Development Agency. The MBDA, which is a federal agency, provides financial assistance to business owners who are considered "socially or economically disadvantaged"² and...