Overview

• On June 25, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter granted a preliminary injunction that extends his June 4 emergency order and bars the Labor Department from ending or pausing Job Corps operations nationwide until litigation concludes.
• Job Corps was created in 1964 and now serves about 25,000 disadvantaged young people at 120 contractor-run centers, providing vocational training, housing, meals and health care under a $1.7 billion budget.
• In May, the Labor Department announced plans to wind down all contractor-operated centers by June 30, citing low graduation rates, growing budget deficits and instances of violence and drug use.
• The National Job Corps Association sued, arguing that the department lacks authority to dismantle a congressionally authorized program and warning that closures would displace tens of thousands of vulnerable students and trigger mass layoffs.
• Attorneys general from 20 states filed an amicus brief supporting the association’s motion, highlighting bipartisan legal opposition to ending the six-decade-old initiative.