RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Black-owned construction company is accusing the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) of racial discrimination after the agency allegedly rejected its nearly $4 million bid. JIREH Construction Co., Inc., a Black-owned Richmond highway contractor, filed a First Ame nded Complaint against VDOT, accusing it of rejecting its nearly $4 million bid while waiving the same rule for other bidders, according to a Tuesday press release. JIREH was the only bidder on a sidewalk and traffic-signal project in four counties in Central Virginia, with VDOT opening a bid on Oct. 23, 2024, and rejecting it 12 days later without giving a reason in its rejection letter. The Krudys Law Firm, counsel for the contractor, said the rejected bid was the third low bid rejected in three months. VDOT — which reportedly rejects around 5% of contracts on average — wrote in an October 2024 letter that the contractor's bids exceeded the advertised project values, saying the agency's rules could not be overlooked. They referenced JIREH's certification as a disadvantaged business enterprise. However, the lawsuit alleges VDOT did not consistently apply those standards to other contractors. According to JIREH's counsel, agency records show that between September 2022 and August 2024, the agency awarded at least 80 contracts to bidders whose prices exceeded project values. Twenty-nine of those contracts went to sole bidders. One contract awarded three months before JIREH's rejection reportedly went to a sole bidder at nearly 41% above project value, and JIREH itself received a VDOT contract in December 2023 that was 26.74% above project value and completed the work on time. The complaint alleges that when JIREH owner Willie C. Lee, a Black man, called a senior VDOT official about the rejection, the official told him: "We don't mind you getting a boat, but not a yacht." According to the Krudys Law Firm, JIREH was prequalified and bonded for work and owned the necessary heavy equipment. The lawsuit presents the remark as evidence of discriminatory treatment. On Oct. 22, 2024, the day before the bid opening, Lee wrote to VDOT's chief engineer alleging implicit bias against minority contractors and later raised those concerns with VDOT on Nov. 4, 2024, the same date as the rejection letter. "I built JIREH to compete for any job VDOT puts out," Lee said in a statement. "I followed the rules. I was the only bidder. All I have ever asked for is the same chance VDOT gives everyone else." Mark Krudys, counsel for JIREH, shared the following statement: “VDOT told Willie Lee his bids were rejected because they exceeded the project value. VDOT’s own records show it awarded at least 80 contracts over the project value in the two years before. That shows that rejecting a bid because it exceeded project value was not VDOT’s practice. It was a rule for JIREH. JIREH is not asking for a break. It is asking for the same rule everyone else got.” JIREH is seeking damages, including its lost profit and lost bonding capacity. 8News reached out to VDOT for comment. ...read more read less