Job Corps Contractors Sue to Block Trump's Program Closure

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: US News and World Report/Reuters

June 3, 2025, at 4:51 p.m.


(Reuters) -The administration of President Donald Trump was hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to block it from eliminating Job Corps, the largest U.S. job training program for low-income youth. A trade group representing contractors that operate Job Corps centers and some of its members claim the U.S. Department of Labor is violating federal law and its own regulations by abruptly shuttering the program, a plan the agency announced last week. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court.

Job Corps was created by Congress in 1964 and allows 16-to-24-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain high school diplomas or an equivalent, vocational certificates and licenses and on-the-job training. The program currently serves about 25,000 people at 120 Job Corps centers run by contractors.

The Labor Department in announcing the end of the program said it was not cost effective, had a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. The department also said there had been thousands of instances of violence, drug use and security breaches at Job Corps centers.

The National Job Corps Association and other plaintiffs in Tuesday's lawsuit said the Labor Department does not have the power to dismantle a program established and funded by Congress. "Shuttering Job Corps will have disastrous, irreparable consequences, including displacing tens of thousands of vulnerable young people [and] destroying companies that have long operated Job Corps centers in reliance on the Government’s support for the program," they said. The Labor Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2025-06-03/job-corps-contractors-sue-to-block-trumps-program-closure

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Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://tmsnrt.rs/3FEqXXS

[jmbar2]

1. I REALLY hope they can get Job Corps back in operation

In my rural part of Oregon, JC is a vital part of the education system here for kids who are not college bound, are homeless, or are aging out of foster care. Their program is hugely impressive and successful at getting kids trained and into union apprenticeships in the trades.

I've seen miracles with totally lost kids after being a part of that organization. They form bonds with others and references that will take them well into adulthood.

There is simply nothing to be gained by ending the program, and a great deal to be lost.

[Doctoris Extincti]

2. Job Corps allowed me to finish HS and to ultimately become an MD

I was also on food stamps. Additionally I received (and paid back) student loans. Loans which I needed although I was also receiving GI Bill benefits as a result of having served in the war in Vietnam as a medic.

One time I calculated that, in just about any single year in private medical practice, I paid back more in taxes than I ever received in benefits.

Well, that's really not true. The benefits of having a full stomach are incalculable.