Advisory about Stimulus Checks

En Español

Tzedek DC Advisory for DC Residents Regarding Stimulus Checks, Debt Collection, and Garnishments during the COVID-19 Emergency

As a result of recent federal legislation, many thousands of DC residents are already receiving government checks of up to $1,200 deposited directly into their bank accounts. Thousands more will be getting their checks by mail soon.

Thanks to a new DC law that took effect April 10, 2020, debt collectors cannot seize your stimulus funds through new garnishments or bank attachments in DC and cannot file a new debt collection lawsuit in DC courts. This law is in effect during the COVID-19 emergency period and through at least June 30, 2020. It may be extended further.

Know Your Rights!

If a creditor is demanding any of your stimulus money or seeking to garnish funds deposited directly into your bank account through new garnishments or bank attachments, THIS IS ILLEGAL.

If these or any other funds are being garnished or attached during this emergency period, let us know, as our Tzedek DC team may be able to help.

If your bank takes any of your stimulus deposit to offset overdrafts or fees that you may owe your bank, request that your bank reverse this, and Tzedek DC may be able to help.

Call us at (202) 274-7386 for a consult in English or Spanish. Tzedek DC is a Public Interest Center headquartered at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law. Our services are provided free of charge to DC residents.

Click here to download a printable version of this advisory

Joint Statement by Tzedek DC and the JCRC on the DC Council’s Enactment of Emergency Debt Collection Relief

WASHINGTON, DC—The Council of the District of Columbia yesterday passed the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, which includes key measures providing relief to DC residents facing the threats of debt collection lawsuits and resulting economic harms during the public health emergency and the months following.

These reforms protect DC residents, during the period of the formal public health emergency declared by the Mayor and for 60 days after, from being sued or having their wages or bank accounts seized in debt collection lawsuits. The enacted protections extend to federal stimulus funds received by eligible residents with lower incomes. As Tzedek DC, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC), and other allied local anti-poverty groups noted in urging the Council to pass these measures, debt collection has emerged as a civil rights issue: over 43% of African-Americans in DC have a debt in collections, more than quadruple the rate for white DC residents.

Tzedek DC Founding President and Director-Counsel Ariel Levinson-Waldman said: “We thank Chairman Mendelson and fellow members of the Council for voting unanimously to support this important relief provision, and we applaud Attorney General Racine, whose team worked closely with ours in crafting key aspects of these protections. Vulnerable families will have some increased breathing room to be able to address the financially toxic combination of dramatic income loss and mounting personal debts. We are also grateful that the bill ensures that federal stimulus payments will be available for residents to rely on for basic life necessities, including food and medical supplies.”

Guila Franklin Siegel, JCRC’s Associate Director, commented that “The Torah commands us to champion the poor, and we applaud the DC Council for protecting vulnerable families struggling with debts in the midst of the pandemic and related economic emergencies and helping give all in the DC community the ability to maintain economic well-being.”

About Tzedek DC

Drawing from the Jewish teachings of “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents dealing with the often devastating consequences of abusive debt collection practices and other consumer-related issues. Tzedek DC is headquartered at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law. Most of our clients are women, and nearly all are from communities of color.

About the JCRC

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) is the public affairs and community relations arm of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington representing over 100 Jewish organizations and synagogues throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The JCRC focuses on government relations, Israel advocacy, inter-group relations, and social justice.

Advisory for Residents Facing Fees from Financial Institutions

Tzedek DC Advisory for DC Residents Facing Late Fees, Monthly Maintenance Fees, or Overdraft Fees

Community members who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 should consider contacting their bank lender, loan servicer, or credit card company and asking them to waive or cancel fees, including late fees, monthly maintenance fees, and overdraft fees. Also, people having trouble making payments should consider asking about delaying payment due dates with no penalties. Some lenders are already granting these requests on a case-by-case basis, but only when a borrower asks.

Lenders are not (as of March 25, 2020) legally required to automatically waive fees, so you must ask your lender to waive your fees or modify your payments due to COVID-19.

To reduce the risk of scams, individuals should initiate the request, rather than responding to a call or email from an unknown person.

Note on Scams

Beware of anyone calling you and identifying themselves as a lender as this may be a scam – it’s unlikely that your lender will contact you offering to ease your debt. Also be aware that Washington DC has an interest rate cap of 24% annually on consumer loans. Many online lenders are offering loans with interest rates higher than this cap that may be illegal in DC.

If you are experiencing anything you are concerned may be a scam, contact Tzedek DC. Also, the DC Office of the Attorney General has set up a helpful resources page here and can be contacted at (202) 727-3400.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS ADVISORY

COVID-19 Emergency Legislation and Court Updates from Tzedek DC

Friends,

We are sending you an elbow, foot shake, or your Coronavirus-era greeting of choice! I’m writing to update on what we at Tzedek DC have been seeing and doing in the last week as this extraordinary and fluid public emergency has intensified. Below is a recap on:

  1. The DC Courts, which, as we had urged, have suspended debt collection cases through May 1.

  2. The emergency legislation passed yesterday by the DC Council, which includes key provisions to address the crisis of income reduction and debt facing so many vulnerable DC families.

  3. Tzedek DC’s continued, full-time client work and updated remote intake processes during the public health emergency. 

We welcome your input and are grateful for the broad community support for Tzedek DC and our client families, and we’re more determined than ever. I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe.

With gratitude,

Ariel Levinson-Waldman, Director, Tzedek DC

PS: Families with debt and credit-related concerns can continue to reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we remain available during business hours for intake by phone as well. We are hearing every day from residents who need help. If you are in a position to help us provide our ongoing services, thank you for considering, and donations can be made here.

1. DC Courts

The DC Superior Court is the central hub of our local DC justice system and has over 80,000 new filings per year. Following advocacy by Tzedek DC and allied groups, the Court on March 15 suspended, through at least May 1, all eviction and foreclosure proceedings and all non-emergency civil matters, including debt collection cases. This Washington City Paper article quotes Tzedek DC’s view that “[w]e appreciate the important, timely steps taken by Chief Judge Morin and the court to create these policies during this time of public emergency in non-emergency civil matters… It is especially critical during this time that vulnerable D.C. families’ limited resources be available for food, shelter, and key day-to-day necessities, including being with their children during the day. It would be unfair and harmful to public safety to force families to choose between their health and having to attend a civil court hearing while they seek to avoid further financial crisis.”

2. DC Council Emergency Legislation

Following input from Tzedek DC and several allied organizations, the Council of the District of Columbia yesterday enacted key initial emergency legislation to address the public health crisis. Among other things, the bill temporarily:

  • Prevents utilities from cutting off water, gas, electric, and other services, regardless of payment by the resident.

  • Provides key wage replacement and unemployment insurance protections.

  • Enhances public benefits.

  • Empowers the Mayor to extend professional licenses (e.g., an electrician’s or cosmetologist’s license) as well as driver’s licenses that would otherwise be expiring.

  • Prohibits price gouging and hoarding and provides enforcement authority to the DC Office of the Attorney General.

  • Empowers the Mayor to extend the period of emergency into April and beyond.

The Council’s recap and a text of the bill are available here. The Mayor has announced she will sign the bill.

We are closely reviewing additional steps the Council and Mayor may take, in conjunction with federal relief options. We will look at reforms that can address the immediate crises being experienced by residents during the public emergency period, as well as the likely challenges our client community will experience in the many months ahead.

These challenges are likely to be massive. Moody’s, for example, estimates that more than half of U.S. jobs are at risk from the pandemic.

Significant financial harms are already being felt directly by DC community members. As was reported yesterday, “[s]weeping rounds of layoffs have started to hit D.C.-area businesses in a wide range of sectors. The economic plunge has been widely felt, hitting the wedding industry, food and hospitality services, arts organizations, wellness companies, and many others.”

We are actively exploring a range of potential systemic solutions. For example, we will look at options for suspending consumer and student debt obligations, suspending adverse reporting to credit agencies, and reforming the DC Government’s so-called Clean Hands rule, under which any resident with $100 or more in outstanding fees or fines cannot renew her driver’s license (a particularly critical issue, now that public transportation has become riskier), or her professional license.

3. Our Updated Operating Status and Continued Client Work

Tzedek DC remains open full-time, responding to residents’ questions while meeting direct services needs remotely and through follow-up advocacy. For public health reasons, Tzedek DC stopped conducting in-person intakes last week and our staff lawyers are teleworking. Families with debt and credit-related concerns can continue to reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by email or via our website portal, and we remain available during business hours for intake by phone as well. We are hearing every day from residents who need help.

Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof

“Justice, justice shall you pursue”

Tzedek DC End of Summer Update

Friends:

As we wrap up the summer of our third year at Tzedek DC, we are proud to report that, thanks to your critical support, we have been able to serve over 1000 vulnerable DC families. In full representation cases, we are saving clients an average of over $1,500 per case, the equivalent of more than two weeks wages at the DC minimum wage. For those who we are able to serve with current resources, our work is enabling community members to avert crippling default judgments, negotiate feasible repayment plans, repair credit, and recover from financial abuse crimes before such problems overwhelm their lives. Through this work, we are both building bridges and increasing access to the justice system for DC residents who tell us that now, often for the first time, they feel the legal system is finally working for them.

We are deeply grateful for the growing recognition of our work from supporters old and new, D.C.’s legal community, and commentators (see “Tzedek DC in the news” below). At the same time, we are ever mindful of the continuing attacks on our most vulnerable neighbors from federal policy, including attacks on our immigrant households and the evisceration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other consumer safeguards -- attacks that have helped lead to a 172% increase in debt collection filings in DC Superior Court since 2016 and that both strain our resources and reinforce our determination.

2019 highlights at Tzedek DC include:

• Taking on a referral of 412 cases from the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia for residents victimized by a debt collector’s use of fraudulent robo-affidavits and fraudulently obtained judgments in DC Superior Court;

• Launching ¡Sin Deudas, Sin Dudas! (Spanish for “No Debts, No Doubts”), an outreach campaign in support of DC’s Latinx community, which has been the subject of the Trump administration’s immigration practices that chill residents’ participation in the civil court system; and

• Systemic advocacy to end DC’s ongoing denials of driver license renewals for those with debts to the DC Government, regardless of their ability to pay.

For a deeper dive, just keep on reading – or scroll down here and click (on non-mobile devices) on the links to specific update topics.

Meanwhile, we hope that you can join us at the third annual Eat Well, Do Justice! celebrations, coming on September 23rd. This year our celebrity chefs (including Barack Obama’s former personal chef!) will be battling to see who makes the best knish – it’s an event not to be missed, with guest judges including Congressman Jamie Raskin and Dahlia Lithwick of Slate. Click here to buy a ticket or donate for Eat Well Do Justice!

Thank you again for making our work at Tzedek DC possible.

With gratitude,

 

Ariel Levinson-Waldman
Tzedek DC

Serving DC Superior Court Residents Defrauded by Midland Funding
¡Sin Deudas, Sin Dudas! (“No Debts, No Doubts”).
Reforming DC’s wealth-based drivers license revocation scheme
Tzedek DC in the 2019 News
 

Serving DC Superior Court Residents Defrauded by Midland Funding

At the request of DC Attorney General Karl Racine, Tzedek DC has accepted referrals for 412 DC residents in connection with allegedly fraudulent robo-signed affidavits by debt buyer Midland Funding. Following a multi-state investigation, Midland settled and DC consumers will receive credits totaling $577,783. However, Midland also sued and obtained Superior Court judgments against most of the residents affected by this alleged fraud. Those court judgments are the focus of our work in the cases. We are seeking to vacate the judgments obtained in those cases and ensure that residents’ records are no longer harmed by Midland’s alleged fraud and abuses.

 

¡Sin Deudas, Sin Dudas! (“No Debts, No Doubts”).

This bilingual campaign encompasses diverse partnerships, bilingual training sessions, workshops, and tailored informational materials for client community members and partner staff on topics like finding legal assistance, avoiding default judgments, managing credit, and spotting economic crimes. We are also working to get our existing Spanish-language TV and radio PSAs aired on the region’s major Hispanic media outlets, while developing new PSAs microtargeted to Spanish speakers who listen to music on their cell-phones or computers (for much wider distribution, at much lower cost). This work is done in coordination with our community-facing partner organizations like CARECEN.

 

Reforming DC’s wealth-based drivers license revocation scheme

Building on our successful prior efforts to end DC's automatic drivers license suspensions for unpaid traffic tickets, Tzedek DC is working to end DC’s automatic denial of driver license renewals for those with debts of over $101 to the DC Government, regardless of ability pay. Denial of renewal is, in effect, a slow-motion suspension. Residents with lower incomes, needing to get to work and elsewhere, often drive anyway on suspended licenses. When caught and arrested, as over 7,000 were between 2015-2017 (80% of them African-American), they then face spiraling fines, fees and penalties that they are even less able to pay than the original traffic debt. To see our oversight testimony to the DC Council, click here.

Tzedek DC Public Interest Fellow Rebecca Azhdam sharing know your rights information with DC residents at risk of losing their licenses for unpaid debts

Tzedek DC Public Interest Fellow Rebecca Azhdam sharing know your rights information with DC residents at risk of losing their licenses for unpaid debts

 

Tzedek DC in the 2019 New

 

Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof
“Justice, justice shall you pursue …”

mlk and heschel.png
 

Again, we deeply appreciate your support of Tzedek DC’s work.
Thank you for making it possible.
https://www.tzedekdc.org/donate-now/

Tzedek DC Year-End Update

Friends:

As 2018 draws to a close, we send heartfelt thanks for your ongoing support of Tzedek DC’s mission and work. It’s also a good time to reflect on why Tzedek DC was launched in the first place, less than two years ago, and to catch you up on our past few months.

Tzedek DC was established because a high percentage of low-income DC residents, notably in our communities of color, experience formidable problems with debt and debt collectors. However these residents neither get nor in many cases are given a meaningful opportunity to seek the legal help that could resolve or mitigate those problems. Tzedek DC opened our doors in February 2017 as the first and only organization to focus principally on this issue, with a three-part game plan to prevent debt, court judgments and credit report harms from setting off catastrophic financial, housing, employment and family crises for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

  • First, we provide free legal services. And as the number of debt collection suits against low-income DC residents has continued to rise, we have seen more and more people in need of our direct legal services. In 2018, now with an in-house staff of four attorneys and a robust cadre of 60+ pro bono lawyers, we have helped approximately 450 DC families with their debt-related legal problems. A substantial increase from 2017! To hear the perspective of our client Esan on the impact of that work, go to https://www.tzedekdc.org/mission/

  • Second, through our partnerships for community education and outreach, we co-lead preventative and practical education regarding debt, credit, economic fraud and consumers’ rights. This year, we added several new partners – Little Lights Urban Ministries, the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, the Victim Legal Network of DC, and East of the River Casehandlers among others – to provide their clients and staff with help on debt management, credit repair and reporting, and pre-bankruptcy issues.

  • Third, we engage in policy and systems reform work to make existing DC laws and practices fairer. Our advocacy, in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and a strong coalition of anti-poverty groups, paid off spectacularly in 2018. First, the DC Council ended the automatic suspension of drivers licenses for those unable to pay their traffic debt. Second, the Council voted to end drivers license suspensions for unpaid court debts. Third, and just this week, on December 18, the DC Council passed the wage garnishment reforms that our coalition has been pushing for the past year: making the garnishment rules much less onerous for the city’s lowest income earners, protecting earnings up to DC’s minimum wage from garnishment, and for the first time requiring notice before a person’s wages can be garnished. 

  • We're especially proud that the wage garnishment reform results in part from testimony delivered by our client Cecile, who powerfully shared her story in the Council’s Judiciary Committee proceedings on the bill. Here is a picture taken just after her testimony (Cecile is second from the left):

 
ceciles.png
 

I'm pleased to report that we have exceeded the goals we set for ourselves a year ago in relation to number of clients served, volunteer attorneys and interns trained, partnerships and presentations made, advocacy goals won or advanced, and new staff hired. We were named by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as “One of the Best” charities for 2018-2019 in the DC region. We also exceeded our financial goals, thanks to generous foundation and individual gifts, and our hugely successful (and by all accounts just plain fun!) second annual Eat Well Do Justice event with celebrity chefs. Join us for the third annual Eat Well Do Justice in September 2019. Knishes anyone?...

In January, we’ll be moving into renovated offices at UDC’s David A. Clarke Law School, where we are proudly headquartered, from where we will aim to serve more clients, grow our roster of community partners, and further pursue systemic reforms. It will be a lively space and we welcome visitors and volunteers.

Unfortunately, the needs that Tzedek DC was originally created to address show no signs of abating and, in fact, are continuing to increase. We seek your continued support, to enable still more progress on our mandate of helping low-income families facing debt and debt collection abuses. Please make as generous a year-end gift as you can – click on https://www.tzedekdc.org/donate-now/ – share our work with others in your circle, follow us on social media, and help us continue to send the message that we are all in this together.

With gratitude, and wishes for a good holiday season.

B’Shalom,

 

Ariel Levinson-Waldman
Tzedek DC

 

Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof
“Justice, justice shall you pursue …”

mlk and heschel.png
 

Again, we deeply appreciate your support of Tzedek DC’s work.
Thank you for making it possible.
https://www.tzedekdc.org/donate-now/