Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Florida Gulf Coast Chapter announced today that they have filed a lawsuit challenging the City of St. Petersburg’s Apprenticeship and Disadvantaged Worker Ordinances. The legal challenge was filed in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial District by Cotney Construction Law. The firm will represent ABC in the lawsuit. In January 2019, ABC submitted a letter to the St. Petersburg City Council outlining concerns regarding the Ordinances and the various ways in which the Ordinances are illegal. However, the City did not provide ABC with any response, nor take any remedial action with respect to these Ordinances. Thus, ABC was compelled to file a lawsuit.
“These City of St. Petersburg Ordinances are not only preempted by state law and the Florida Constitution, but they also have an effect of requiring employers to discriminate against their current employees,” said ABC President/CEO Steve Cona III. “These unprecedented ordinances are problematic for construction business owners who often need to project costs and workforce needs over multiple years and projects.”
ABC seeks a declaration that the Apprenticeship Ordinance and the Disadvantaged Worker Ordinance are unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid. ABC also demands an injunction prohibiting the City of St. Petersburg from enforcing the Apprenticeship and Disadvantaged Worker Ordinances.
About ABC
Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association representing more than 21,000 members. ABC and its 69 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. ABC’s membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors.