# Disadvantaged Business Enterprise *Federal transportation-contracting program governed by 49 C.F.R. Part 26, as it appears in the Minnesota record* Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) is the name of a federal program. Its governing rule is 49 C.F.R. Part 26, the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulation.[^1] In [[Minnesota]], the record connects the program to the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]], which publishes a page for its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program.[^2] A validated claim:link row in the project's catalogue describes that page in terms of the DBE certifications the Council files each year with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).[^2] The project's catalogue of claim:link pairs cites Part 26 under three of its legal theories.[^1] The first is [[Title VI]], covering race discrimination in federally funded programs. The second is 42 U.S.C. §1981, the equal right to contract regardless of race. The third is a "federal triangulation" theory that groups the Metropolitan Council, the [[University of Minnesota]] and the Citizens League.[^1] The catalogue cites the Council's DBE program page under a fourth theory.[^2] That theory joins [[Title VII]] disparate treatment, [[§43A.191]], and RICO and qui tam claims.[^2] These are the project's own legal theories, not filed complaints. The record assembled for this article contains no docket, agency finding or court ruling about the Council's DBE program.[^2] ## Who The Metropolitan Council runs a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program and presents it on its small-business programs pages.[^2] The Council is the body that files DBE certifications with the FTA each year.[^2] ## What Part 26 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations is the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulation.[^1] The Council's yearly filings with the FTA are DBE certifications.[^2] The record does not establish the following: - the text of those certifications; - the years they cover; - the participation goals stated in them; - any audit of the Council's compliance with them.[^2] ## How The record documents one mechanism linking the Council to the federal program: certifications filed with the FTA each year.[^2] The record does not show the content of those certifications or any federal review of them.[^1][^2] A separate federal reporting duty also applies to public employers. State and local governments with 100 or more employees must submit the EEO-4 Report.[^3] The EEO-4 is a mandatory biennial collection of workforce demographic data. It is broken down by race/ethnicity, sex, job category and salary band.[^3] The filing requirement rests on three authorities: - section 709(c) of Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]; - 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c); - 29 CFR 1602.30 and .32–.37.[^3] Section 709(e) of Title VII bars release of individually identifiable information. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission therefore publishes EEO-4 data only in aggregate. Its public use file covers 2005 through 2023.[^3] The record does not include the Metropolitan Council's own EEO-4 filings.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, *49 C.F.R. Part 26* (current) — the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulation; cited under the project's Title VI, 42 U.S.C. §1981 and federal-triangulation theories. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-A/part-26 [^2]: Metropolitan Council, *Disadvantaged Business Program* (n.d.) — the Council's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program page; cited in the project's catalogue for the DBE certifications the Council files each year with the FTA. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/What-We-Do/DoingBusiness/Small-Business-Programs/Disadvantaged-Business-Program.aspx [^3]: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, *EEO-4 (State and Local Government Information Report) Statistics* (n.d.) — establishes the mandatory biennial EEO-4 collection for state and local governments with 100 or more employees, its statutory and regulatory basis, its confidentiality rule, and the 2005–2023 public use file. https://www.eeoc.gov/data/eeo-4-state-and-local-government-information-report-statistics