For many D.C. residents looking to become a plumber or social worker, or those looking to open a business, a parking ticket means more than just a headache. If left unpaid, it can be the one obstacle standing in the way of obtaining the necessary licensure to work.
Under the District’s current “Clean Hands” mandate, residents are prohibited from obtaining certain licenses, permits, grants, and contracts if they owe the city more than $100. Up until Dec. 27, 2022, this also applied to those looking to obtain or renew a driver’s license. But earlier this year a federal judge ordered the District to stop enforcing the mandate against people seeking driver’s licenses. Council legislation that went into effect in October officially ended the enforcement.
Tzedek DC has been a key advocate for residents facing city fines and fees. On Dec. 13, the organization released a summary of a forthcoming report on the need to further reform the Clean Hands mandate. The group is also supporting legislation from At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie that would remove the provision in the Clean Hands law that prevents D.C. residents from obtaining licenses for occupational and small business. The bill would also raise the Clean Hands threshold limit from $100 to $2,500.
According to a press release from Tzedek DC, nearly one in five D.C. workers will need an occupational license that falls under Clean Hands. “It affects more than 125 occupations, representing over 48,000 workers,” the statement says.
Beyond impacting residents seeking out these jobs, Tzedek DC’s statement notes that the D.C. Council’s Office of Racial Equity has previously concluded that “Black residents [are] disproportionately impacted by fines but with fewer opportunities to build wealth that may help them pay debts resulting from fines and fees.”
A 2021 report from Tzedek DC and the Venable law firm spotlights the impact of the mandate on five residents, and analyzes the city’s fines, fees, and ticketing systems. The report demonstrates how Clean Hands disproportionately affects lower income residents, reduces employment, exacerbates racial inequalities, and exposes nonviolent individuals to criminal punishment.
“Data shows that D.C. has the largest Black-white unemployment gap in the United States. The Clean Hands Law plays a significant role in perpetuating and widening racial and economic disparities in the District,” Ariel Levinson-Waldman, founding president and director-counsel of Tzedek DC, says in the press release.
The report notes that, as the D.C. government moves forward with plans to triple the number of automated traffic enforcement cameras, the number of fines and fees issued will likely only increase. The traffic cameras risk exacerbating “disparate impact of Clean Hands on workers with low incomes,” the report says.
Under the District’s current traffic fines system, if a violation is left unpaid for more than 30 calendar days, the fine doubles, often leading even a modest fine to become unmanageable for residents who cannot immediately afford to pay the ticket.
“This is an issue of racial equity and good government,” McDuffie says in the press release. “I am committed to ensuring our public policy helps reduce, not widen, the unacceptable DC racial gaps in wealth and employment.”
Tzedek DC’s full 2023 report is now available here.