WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, seven Job Corps students, on behalf of a nationwide class, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor over the Trump administration’s decision to close Job Corps centers across the country and shut down the Job Corps program. The plaintiffs are represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Congress established Job Corps in 1964 to provide young people with education and vocational training. Currently, Job Corps enrollment is limited to low-income individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 who face barriers to employment, including homelessness. Participants in the programs receive education and training, as well as housing, a biweekly living allowance, and medical, dental, and mental health services.
At the start of 2025, there were 99 Job Corps centers throughout the country operated by contractors pursuant to two-year contracts.
On May 29, 2025 — in defiance of requirements set by Congress — the Department of Labor announced the suspension of the Job Corps program and that all 99 Job Corps centers would be closed by June 30, 2025. As a result, tens of thousands of at-risk young people around the country were told they would immediately, or by June 30, 2025, lose access to Job Corps education and training, their place to live, and their access to health care and other services.
“The Department of Labor’s sudden closure of Job Corps centers and suspension of the Job Corps program is cruel and unlawful,” said Adam Pulver, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “As a result of the Department’s illegal actions, tens of thousands of young people, including our clients, will lose vital access to housing, health care, and the opportunity to build a more stable future for themselves and their families. As directed by Congress, the Centers must be kept open and the program must be restored.”
“The Job Corps program since its creation by Congress in 1964, has been an important program helping students find housing security and pathways to economic opportunity across the country and particularly in the south, especially for people of color, with nearly half of the participants in the program being Black youth,” said Scott McCoy, deputy legal director, SPLC. “Shutting down these centers would do great harm to these students and communities. We cannot let the closures stand.”
The complaint is available here.
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
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