Trump Administration, in Response to Students’ Lawsuit, Agrees to Abandon Attempt to Shut Job Corps Centers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a settlement agreement filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Cabrera v. Department of Labor, the Trump administration agreed to rescind its efforts to shutter 99 Job Corps centers nationwide. The settlement is a victory for the seven Job Corps students represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), as well as thousands of others across the country.
Under the settlement, the Department of Labor agreed to fully and unconditionally rescind the termination notices that it sent in May 2025 to Job Corps center operators, as well as its “pause in contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.” Earlier, the district court had granted the students’ motion to stay the Department of Labor’s directive to close all privately-operated Job Corps centers, finding that the directive likely violated provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
“Today’s settlement puts an end to the unlawful threat hanging over Job Corps students’ heads for the last year,” said Adam Pulver, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “As the court previously recognized, Congress was clear that DOL cannot close any center without following a specific procedure—a procedure DOL did not even pretend to follow here”.
“This settlement shows that the suspension of the Job Corps program was a critical mistake that threatened the futures of thousands of young people,” said Aaron Fleisher, senior supervising attorney, SPLC. “Since 1964, the Job Corps program served students in securing housing, training and economic opportunity — young adults already burdened by an unreliable job market, and in some cases without a place to live. This administration cruelly tried to take away one of a handful of options for them to support themselves. We are proud to have stood with them and prevented that from happening.”
Congress established Job Corps to provide young people with education and vocational training, helping countless Americans as they enter the workforce. Today’s settlement protects 99 Job Corps centers and the thousands of vulnerable young people who were at risk of losing access to Job Corps education and training, their housing, and health care and other services.
Read more about the case here.