Legal Sieges on President’s Power Threaten Contractor Watchdog

Lawsuits attacking rules tied to the president’s power over government purchases are sketching a blueprint for weakening the US Labor Department subagency tasked with enforcing federal contractors’ civil rights responsibilities.

Business groups have sued to block agency rules implementing President Joe Biden’s executive orders requiring a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors or project labor agreements for large federal contracts, arguing with some success that Biden didn’t have the legal authority to issue those mandates.

As federal courts take a more skeptical look at the executive branch’s power, some attorneys say legal arguments raised in those cases could be used ...