A minority-owned contractor (D.J. Miller & Associates) won a court order stopping Ohio from terminating its state contract. The state claimed the contractor had unqualified personnel, but the court found this was a false excuse to discriminate. The court ruled the state applied different standards to the white-owned replacement contractor, violating federal civil rights law. This case protects minority contractors from being fired for pretextual reasons on federally-funded projects.
Document everything about your qualifications and personnel. If a government agency objects to your staff, get it in writing and compare their standards to what they accept from other contractors.
If you're terminated from a federal-funded contract, check if the agency applied different rules to your replacement. Inconsistent enforcement is evidence of discrimination.
Title VI protects contractors on federally-funded projects. You can sue if a state agency discriminates based on race, even if the stated reason sounds legitimate.