FLINT, Mich. — Mayor Don Williamson has come under fire for a new policy that withholds city business from any person or entity involved in a lawsuit against Flint within the past five years.

Under the mandate issued Jan. 21, city employees or department heads who violate the policy face discipline, including a 30-day suspension, a request to resign or firing.

The move is in the taxpayers' best interests, Williamson told The Flint Journal for a Feb. 13 story. "Who in the world would want to do business if you're sued by 'em?" he said.

Greg Gibbs, chairman of the Greater Flint branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he would go to U.S. District Court to have the policy declared unconstitutional.

"That's just a reckless, retaliatory action (against) people who exercise their rights to go to court," Gibbs said. "It's reactionary. It's extreme."

City attorney Trachelle Young says the policy is constitutional because it doesn't limit a person's ability to go to court. Williamson will be flexible in cases where a legal dispute was amicably resolved, she said.

Robert Sedler, a Wayne State University law professor, predicted the policy would not survive a constitutional challenge. The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the government and that includes going to court, he said.

"That's our system. There's not supposed to be sanctions for it," Sedler said.