A U.S. appellate court ruling last month is forcing a lower court to review its earlier support of Jersey City, N.J.’s project labor agreement (PLA) requirements. On privately developed projects of $25 million or more receiving city tax abatements, the city had required contractors to hire union labor and meet 20% of apprenticeship hours using local residents under project labor agreements (PLAs). In determining the mandate’s legality, the issue is whether the city is acting as a market participant or as a regulator.
In a Sept. 12 opinion, the Philadelphia appeals court said the Newark, N.J., district court erred when it deemed the city a market participant, allowed to require the PLA, and when it dismissed the suit by nonunion firms. The Philadelphia court ordered the lower court to reassess the case for any conflict with U.S. law.