Standing Up for Fair, Safe, and Equitable Housing in the District
Hello District Neighbors,
It’s been a busy few weeks advocating for housing justice here at the Office of Attorney General. We’ve had two significant wins: Passing emergency legislation to reform the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) and securing the largest housing discrimination penalty in U.S. history. These are both significant steps to make our city a place where marginalized and longtime residents can stay in stable, safe, and affordable homes. But there is still much more to do. Let me break down our work pushing for housing justice, and what we’re up against.
DCHA’s job is to provide the most vulnerable District residents a place to live and to keep these homes safe and sanitary. It is clear both from a scathing new federal report and years of resident complaints that DCHA is failing on both fronts:
- DCHA has the highest vacancy rate of any large public housing agency. Nearly a quarter of units are empty while the waiting list to get into a home is over 40,000 names long. That is unconscionable mismanagement, with devastating consequences.
- To make matters worse, when DCHA is providing housing, the conditions can be terrible with vermin, mold, safety issues, and failure to provide accommodations for people with disabilities.
The good news is that last week, the Council unanimously passed the emergency bill Councilmember Silverman and I introduced to reform DCHA. It will increase transparency and oversight, ensure Board members receive appropriate training, and clarify that DCHA, like all other District landlords, must follow the District’s consumer protection laws. This is a good step that builds on the two lawsuits we have filed against DCHA—and permanent legislation must follow, as I wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post.
A second piece of good news is that my office achieved a historic victory last week: We reached a $10 million settlement with DARO Realty for discriminating against renters who use vouchers and other forms of housing assistance. This was the largest civil penalty in a housing discrimination case in US history.
I’m proud of my team for this huge win protecting DC voucher holders—who are overwhelmingly women with kids, seniors, and people with disabilities who are trying to put a roof over their heads for themselves and their families.
We’ll keep standing up for our neighbors in court, because every District resident deserves to live with dignity, including the tens of thousands of District households who rely on vouchers and residents of DC’s public housing.
Thank you,
Karl Racine
Attorney General
Gig Economy Companies Don't Get a Free Pass to Violate the Law
Today, my office sued Shipt, a gig economy company that offers shopping and delivery services. Shipt misclassified its full-time workers by treating employees as independent contractors, which means these employees are cheated out of hard-earned wages and benefits, denied safety protections, and bear routine business costs. Our workers’ rights laws are there for a reason: to ensure our workers are treated fairly and paid what they are due.
Increasingly, across the country, we’re seeing companies fraudulently call full-time workers independent contractors to deny them wages and benefits. And worker misclassification fraud too often occurs in industries with the lowest paid workers. We’re working to stand up against this illegal scheme. Gig economy companies, like other companies, don't have a free pass to violate the law. And we’ll hold them accountable if they try.
Consumer Alert: Avoid Using Unencrypted Apps to Communicate About Abortion Services
Abortion remains fully legal in the District. This means that DC residents and visitors have the freedom to choose which reproductive health decisions work best for them and their families.
But across the country, access to abortion care is under threat. For this reason, those seeking abortions should be aware of how others may use their data, and they should take steps to protect themselves and their data and privacy as much as possible. To protect your privacy, avoid using unencrypted messaging sites (like Facebook Messenger) to communicate about seeking abortion services. My office issued a consumer alert in June 2022 about protecting your data privacy when seeking an abortion. And now, we’ve seen authorities in Nebraska use a woman’s Facebook messages to indict her for seeking an abortion.
Hearing from Community Members Across the District
It was great to speak with Ward 2 community members and Howard students last week about my office’s approach to advancing public safety. Thank you to Councilmember Pinto, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, Tia Bell, and Howard University School of Law for the engaging discussion.
My office is committed to bringing innovation to criminal justice by thinking outside the box and using data and research-driven policy to help make the District a safer place for all residents.
Thanks to Councilmember Pinto and Howard Law for having me!
Have a Coat to Spare? Donate to ATTEND’s Coat Drive
My office’s ATTEND program—which helps children and their families address the underlying issues causing chronic absenteeism—will be collecting new and gently used coats, gloves, and socks to donate to DC students. At OAG, we’re committed to doing all we can to help kids attend school, whether that’s providing warm winter clothing, school supplies, or food. You can make donation to the coat drive by emailing FSP.Juvenile@dc.gov to arrange a drop off until November 10th.
