MINNEAPOLIS — A city ordinance in Minneapolis requires city contractors to provide unmarried employees and their partners the same benefits as married couples. Any company that refuses to comply cannot bid on major projects worth more than $100,000, and contractors are forbidden to hire subcontractors that don't comply with the law.

Just as a former employee sued AT&T in Denver because the company tried to force him to “value” diversity, a Minnesota construction firm is suing Minneapolis with a claim that the ordinance unfairly forces companies to value those who diverge from traditional family values such as marriage.

“The incredibly unfair ordinance uses economic power to implement a coercive social agenda to redefine ‘family,’” said a statement issued by Jordan Lorence, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that defends traditional family values. “The ordinance is a classic example of political correctness run amok and must be stopped by the courts.”

The lawsuit claims the Minneapolis ordinance violates the civil rights of Titus Construction Co., requires companies such as Titus to subcontract only with firms who also comply with the ordinance, infringes on the sovereignty of other political subdivisions by regulating businesses based outside of Minneapolis and exceeds the authority of Minneapolis under state law.

The lawsuit asks the federal court for the district of Minnesota to rule that the Minneapolis law violates federal law and asks that the city be stopped from refusing bids from companies that do not comply with the ordinance.

— Wayne Laugesen