Chambers settle minority hiring lawsuit with Milwaukee

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The city of Milwaukee reached a settlement Monday in a federal lawsuit concerning its minority contracting practices.

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin sued the city in May 2012 over an ordinance change that took effect Jan. 1, 2012. The American Indian Chamber of Wisconsin joined as a plaintiff in June 2012, and the city sued Jacksonville-based D. Wilson Consulting Group LLC, which conducted the disparity study used to justify the ordinance change. D. Wilson’s insurer, Greenwich, Conn.-based Gemini Insurance Co., also was named in the lawsuit.

According to a Monday letter attributed to Jon Masini, an attorney with Chicago-based Vanek, Vickers & Masini PC representing D. Wilson, the parties will request a dismissal of the lawsuit once the settlement agreement is put in place. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Masini did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did attorneys for the minority chambers. Margaret Daun, Milwaukee’s assistant city attorney, refused to comment beyond what is stated in court documents.

Before Jan. 1, 2012, the city set aside 25 percent of its construction contracts for any minority-owned businesses. The ordinance change reserved 7.31 percent of contracts for women-owned businesses, 5.57 percent for black-owned businesses and 0.07 percent for Asian-owned businesses. Any minority-owned business can compete for the remaining 12.05 percent.

The chambers alleged their members’ businesses suffered when the city began reserving more than half of the original set-aside for specific minority groups.