Washington Lawyer Magazine profiled Tzedek DC client Kahssay Ghebrebrhan in their recent September-October issue, highlighting the impact of our occupational license reform efforts.
Under the District's prior Clean Hands mandate, DC workers and entrepreneurs with owed fines or fees over a threshold amount were barred from obtaining occupational and small business licenses, with no exceptions and no inquiry as to ability to pay. This debt-based punishment has affected more than 125 occupations, covering over 48,000 workers—nearly one-fifth of all DC workers—including food vendors, barbers, cosmetologists, nurses, social workers, plumbers, and dozens of other occupations crucial to the District’s economy.
Tzedek DC, alongside co-counsel the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, represented Kahssay and other DC workers in federal district court, arguing that the practice was unconstitutional, reinforced inequalities, and penalized poverty.
After Tzedek DC and coalition allies’ advocacy, the DC Council enacted a series of reforms, culminating on July 28 of this year, in the passage of a reform under which fines and fees from parking and traffic tickets no longer disqualify DC workers and entrepreneurs from occupational and business licenses.
Tzedek DC is grateful for the outstanding partnership with our co-counsel, as well as to the nonprofit Beloved Community Incubator, which worked closely with Kahssay and the other workers in our case.