The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Tzedek DC, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP have filed a constitutional challenge to the District of Columbia’s Clean Hands Law on behalf of workers punished by the law for unpaid debt to the DC Government by being disqualified from obtaining occupational and small business licenses.
DC’s Clean Hands Law violates the constitutional rights of financially distressed residents by automatically disqualifying them from occupational and small business licenses as punishment for unpaid fines or fees, the lawsuit says. In doing so, it deprives already distressed families of critical income, reinforces cycles of poverty, and exacerbates racial inequalities.
The suit is brought on behalf of seven individuals. Their stories are told in their sworn declarations, linked to at each of their names in the full story available at the link below.
This story has also been featured in NPR's All Things Considered and an accompanying written article in DCist, available here.