St. Louis law aimed at jobs for minorities

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay has signed legislation aimed at expanding construction job opportunities for minorities, women and city residents.

The new measure sets goals for public works projects of $1 million or more. It says 25 percent of the labor should be done by minorities and 5 percent by women.

It seeks to have 20 percent of the labor hours performed by those living in the city. And it seeks to have apprentices enrolled in qualified training programs do part of the work.

The city's work force agency can grant waivers when appropriate. The goals can overlap if someone is a minority, woman and/or city resident.