It Happened Again: Federal Court Strikes Down Illegal PLA Mandate

Court Rules PLA Requirement Violated Federal Contracting Law

Once again, a federal court has shut down a government-mandated Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for illegally restricting open competition.

On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated federal law by imposing a PLA requirement on a construction project, finding the mandate unlawfully restricted “full and open competition” in violation of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA).

Rather than evaluating whether a PLA made sense for the project, the agency simply assumed one was required, ignored evidence that the mandate would exclude qualified contractors, and failed to analyze whether it would increase costs or reduce competition. The court rejected that approach outright, ruling that agencies cannot impose union-only mandates based on political preference instead of real market conditions. Read the court’s ruling here.

This ruling follows the Court of Federal Claims’ landmark decision earlier this year in MVL USA, Inc. et al. v. The United States. On January 21, 2025, the court ruled that government-mandated PLAs violate federal contracting law because they “stifle competition” and unlawfully exclude otherwise qualified bidders. Read more about that decision here.

These rulings confirm what taxpayers already know: PLAs are not about efficiency or fairness - they are politically inspired mandates that drive up costs, shut out local contractors, and undermine competition.

Courts are increasingly unwilling to tolerate these schemes, and governments that continue to push PLAs do so at their own legal risk.