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Changes this month to the way the Oregon Department of Transportation counts minority participation on projects made contractors take notice. But an effort by the state’s business development office to explain the changes has instead created more confusion for contractors.

Starting this month, disadvantaged business enterprise, or DBE, contractors earn credit only for work they do under the specific codes in which they are certified. If a DBE contractor performs work classified under another code, the work doesn’t count toward the project’s overall DBE goals.

If a contractor is certified to do concrete work, for example, but not electrical work, the project won’t get DBE credit for electrical work performed by that contractor. Previously, ODOT had counted any work the DBE contractor performed, even if the contractor wasn’t certified in that specific code area.

The change doesn’t mean that firms will lose their DBE status. But that’s the message contractors received in letters from Business Oregon, the state office responsible for certification.

ODOT officials now say at least one letter was incorrect, and that Business Oregon will be sending another to clear up the confusion.

The National Association of Minority Contractors’ Oregon chapter advised its member contractors that the state’s directive is incorrect. Member Michael Martin with Northwest Infrastructure said he disregarded the Business Oregon letter.

“Someone (from NAMCO) let me know about it and I just threw it away,” Martin said.

Business Oregon sent one letter to firms under the heading “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Review and Recertification.” The letter included an application for recertification.

“The letter that went out from Business Oregon appears to be in error and is giving the wrong impression,” said ODOT spokesman Patrick Cooney. “I can understand the confusion.”

Certified DBE firms don’t need to apply to recertify. However, they have the opportunity to become certified in additional code areas, if they so choose.

Business Oregon will visit or review all 580 DBE-certified firms, Cooney said, to make sure the certifications are up to date and that firms wishing to become certified in new code areas have that opportunity. It will also send out another letter to correct the earlier one.

Melvin Oden-Orr, NAMCO’s general counsel, said that an across-the-board review isn’t necessary and places too big a burden on DBE contractors. “It’s our position that what they’re asking for is unnecessary,” Oden-Orr said. “It’s already in the files.”

“The issue they appear to be attempting to address is that either ODOT or the general contractors have allowed firms to do work in areas they’re not certified in,” Oden-Orr said. “That’s not a certification issue; that’s a compliance issue.”

The changes made this month to the DBE program were intended to put Oregon in line with federal guidelines. They also make it harder to reach goals for participation of DBE firms – those controlled by minorities or women. The ODOT goal has been 11.5 percent participation for those groups.

A particular focus for ODOT has been African-American and Asian-American contractors, groups that a disparity study showed were getting fewer jobs than their share. Those firms will have the first opportunity to certify under new areas, Cooney said.

“African-American and Asian-American firms will be given priority on reviews to make sure that they don’t fall farther behind,” Cooney said. “We apologize for the confusion, and we will get information out to DBE firms that’s correct and explains what they need to do or not do.”

For his part, Martin said he’s not up for recertification anytime soon and isn’t in a hurry to expand his classifications. “I will end up getting recertified in new areas,” he said.

“But there’s nothing going on right now we need to do something about right away.”