Judge orders Job Corps centers to stay open while lawsuit in court

Orleans County Legislature passes resolution in support of program

Provided photos: Students at the Iroquois Job Corps Center learn in programs for brick masonry, carpentry, electrical, commercial painting, clinical  medical assistant and certified nursing assistant.

June 30 won’t be the day that Job Corps centers shut down. A federal judge on Wednesday said the centers don’t have to close while a lawsuit is in federal court.

Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced on May 29 that 99 privately run centers would go on “pause” due to what she said were low graduation rates and high incidents of violence. She said Job Corps is not cost-effective. She set June 30 as the date for the centers to close, with students to be sent home earlier on June 6.

But U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter said the Department of Labor can’t dismantle a program that Congress established and set aside funding to run. A preliminary injunction nationally will allow the centers to stay open while litigation continues.

The Job Corps program was founded in 1964 to help teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish traditional high school and find jobs. The program provides tuition-free housing at residential centers, training, meals and health care.

“Once Congress has passed legislation stating that a program like the Job Corps must exist, and set aside funding for that program, the DOL is not free to do as it pleases; it is required to enforce the law as intended by Congress,” Carter wrote in the ruling, according to the Associated Press.

Carter directed the DOL to stop removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval, the AP reported.

The DOL said it was pausing the Job Corps, not shutting it down. But the judge disputed that.

“The way that the DOL is shuttering operations and the context in which the shuttering is taking place make it clear that the DOL is actually attempting to close the centers,” Carter wrote.

The judge said closing the centers harms students. They lose the progress they’ve made towards their education and certifications, with some plunged into homelessness. That is a big contrast from the “minor upheaval” described by government lawyers, he said.

County Legislature calls Job Corps ‘a vital resource’

The Orleans County Legislature on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution in support of keeping the Job Corps program open and at full capacity. The center has room for 225 students. The center assists students in earning their high school diplomas and learn skills in various fields – certified nursing assistant, clinical medical assistant, electrical, carpentry, bricklaying and painting.

County legislators said the Job Corps program for more than 60 years “has been a staple in assisting young adults obtain life skills, earn high school diplomas, receive on the job training in healthcare, construction and other in-demand fields.”

The Iroquois Job Corps has a $17 million impact annual economic impact locally, legislators said. Students also have completed many projects in the community at municipal buildings and parks in Orleans, Niagara, and Genesee counties, “thus saving the cost burden having been put upon the local property taxes.”

“Orleans County Legislators view the Iroquois Job Corps Center as a vital resource to the county by means of assisting up to 225 young adults at a time, employing 100 local residents, and providing an estimated $17 million annual economic impact on our local economy,” the resolution states. “The Orleans County Legislature does hereby oppose a ‘phased pause’ and closure of the Iroquois Job Corps Center in our County.”

Lynne Johnson, the Legislature chairwoman, has been a member of the community council at the Job Corps.

She said many of the students come from difficult circumstances and Job Corps helps them to learn skills and get jobs.

“They are contributing members of our society,” Johnson said.

The Medina Village Board also considered a resolution in support of Job Corps on Monday, but it failed to get three votes to pass. Mayor Marguerite Sherman and Trustee Jess Marciano wanted to state Medina’s support of the program.

“I think there is a lot of value to that program,” Marciano said.

Trustee Scott Bielski said he had to abstain because his company works with the Job Corps and he didn’t think it was proper for him to vote on an issue where he has financial gain.

“I support the Job Corps 100 percent,” he said.

Trustee Deb Padoleski said she was uncomfortable with the village weighing in on the issue.

“It feels like political activism to me,” she said.

Trustee Mark Prawel wasn’t at the meeting.

Mayor Sherman said Job Corps students were planning to do projects at City Hall and the Village Office this year to gain work experience. Students in recent years built the pavilion at State Street Park and made several Buddy Benches at Medina parks.