Tzedek DC, an organization that protects the legal rights and financial status of low-income District residents dealing with abusive debt collection practices and other consumer-related issues, has announced its support for reforming the city’s Clean Hands Law advocated by D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large).
McDuffie’s bill — The Clean Hands Economic Expansion and Revitalization Amendment Act of 2023 — would end the current law’s disqualification of people from occupational and small business licenses as punishment for unpaid fines and fees. The current law disqualifies anyone over $100 in unpaid fines and fees of any kind from obtaining District government occupational and small business licenses. Affected are more than 125 occupations, representing 48,000 workers, including barbers, cosmetologists, nurses, social workers, plumbers, HVAC cleaners, food vendors, and dozens of other occupations that are considered critical to the city’s economy.
The D.C. Council’s Office of Racial Equity has conducted research and concluded that Black residents are harmed more by the Clean Hands policy than other racial groups. Tzedek DC has issued a report, “Locked Out: How DC Bans Workers with Unpaid Fines from More than 125 Jobs or Starting a Business, and What We Can Do About It” that addresses the negative consequences of the Clean Hands Act and what could be done as a remedy.
“I’m concerned about the problems caused by the Clean Hands law for both D.C. workers and D.C. employers, and I am committed to ensuring our public policy helps reduce, not widen, the unacceptable D.C. racial gaps in wealth and employment,” McDuffie said. “I appreciate the work done by all the residents and organizations to shed light on this issue.”
