Women’s History Month gives well deserved recognition to women and their contributions, achievements, and roles in society throughout history.

This month we celebrate the women who were the trailblazers and the history makers, the women who were at the forefront of social movements and who did the work behind the scenes. We celebrate women, famous and lesser-known, whose legacies live on and are still being built.

This year marks the 101st anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. And although much progress has been made since then, we know that there is much, much more to be done on gender equality.

This month has already been off to a great start. We began with a riveting conversation during last Friday’s Take 30 with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and it doesn’t end there. We have some other exciting events planned for the week ahead.

On Thursday, March 18 at noon ET, I will be hosting a Women’s History Month Discussion for the National Association of Attorneys General, where I will be joined by AG Jennings (DE), AG George (VI), and AG Hill (WY). Our conversation will focus on the progress that women have made since the suffrage movement, the challenges that women continue to face today, and the paths these women took to becoming Attorneys General. RSVP here.

And on Friday, March 19 at 11am ET, I’ll be joined by Tina Tchen, President and CEO of TIME’S UP, and Fatima Gross Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center. We’ll discuss the pandemic’s effect on working women, the #MeToo movement for low-wage workers, and what workplace protections and policies are needed to promote women’s equality. RSVP here. 

Although Women’s History Month is a celebration of iconic women throughout history, let’s not forget to celebrate and appreciate the women in our own lives–our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, friends, colleagues–this month as well as each and every day.

Karl A. Racine
Attorney General 

Sign Up for the COVID-19 Vaccine

Everyone can now pre-register for the vaccine. You will receive an alert when an appointment is ready for you. For details visit vaccinate.dc.gov or call 1-855-363-0333. 

You can sign up 24/7 through the website and during the day 7 days a week by phone.

Enforcing COVID-19 Emergency Orders

This week, AG Racine filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Washington Sports Club for failing to comply with the District’s health and safety orders related to COVID-19. In the complaint, OAG alleges that the Dupont Circle location of the Washington Sports Club failed to enforce the District’s mask mandate, set and enforce appropriate social distancing guidelines, and properly disinfect equipment. Learn more here.

WIN: Three Landlords Held Accountable for Breaking District Law

OAG announced three housing victories this last week. A court ordered Thomas K. Stephenson, a landlord of several District residential properties, to pay more than $624,000 in restitution to the tenants. For two years, Stephenson collected full rent from his tenants, despite their housing being dangerous and in serious disrepair. Separately, OAG reached a settlement with the owners of the property 1828 Q Street SE, who agreed to improve the building’s security and take measures to address the routine violence that occurs at the property. In another settlement, Lenkin, a property management firm, agreed to pay $17,000 to the District and tenants for distributing improper eviction notices to the tenants of their building, the Yorkshire Apartments. Read more about the judgment and settlements here.

Fighting Back Against Medicaid Fraud Scheme

This week, AG Racine announced a lawsuit against Vizion One, a home health care provider, for defrauding the District’s Medicaid program of more than $3 million. In the lawsuit, OAG alleges that Vizion One engaged in an elaborate scheme to profit by submitting false Medicaid claims for at-home care. As part of this scheme, Vizion One employees recruited Medicaid recipients—including by canvassing outside of homeless shelters and District social service agencies—and bribed them to falsely claim they needed care that was not actually necessary or provided to them. Read more about this case here.  

Protecting Elderly and Vulnerable District Residents

AG Racine filed four cases and resolved two others involving the financial exploitation of older and vulnerable adults. A home health aide, two former bank employees, two Maryland residents, a pastor, and a former mental health facility employee were the perpetrators behind these six separate cases, two of which concluded with guilty pleas. Read more here.

Protecting Students from Bullying, Off-Campus and Onscreen

AG Racine and Massachusetts AG Maura Healy co-led a coalition of 24 attorney’s general in filing an amicus brief in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., a case concerning schools’ ability to hold students accountable for bullying that occurs off-campus. In this brief, the attorneys general do not side with either party, but instead urge the Supreme Court to treat students’ off-campus speech like any other student speech and allow schools to regulate it when it substantially disrupts school or other student’s learning. Learn more here.

Defending Family Reunification Programs

AG Racine and AG Raoul (IL), along with 20 other attorneys general, issued a public comment letter urging the Biden Administration to abandon Trump-era plans to cease family reunification programs. This letter emphasized the impact that the termination of these programs would have on Haitian and Filipino immigrants. The letter also argues that there is no legal basis for ending these programs and that doing so would violate the Administrative Procedure Act and harm the public. Read more here.

Supporting the Rights of Temporary Protected Status Holders

AG Racine and AG Healy led an alliance of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Sanchez v. Mayorkas, a case involving a married couple from El Salvador who lived in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and who applied for permanent residency, but were denied. In the brief, the attorneys general urge the Supreme Court to maintain a pathway to citizenship for individuals living in the United States under TPS. The brief also details the importance of TPS holders to society, specifically to their communities and to their state economies, and the harms caused by denying TPS holders the ability to seek permanent residency. Read more here.

Reporting 2020 Consumer Protection Trends

OAG’s 2020 “Consumer Complaint Report” was released last week during National Consumer Protection Week. The report notes the uptick in consumer complaints received in 2020 and the amount of restitution OAG obtained for consumers, and includes data from consumer complaints based on volume, category, and geography. Read more about the report here.

WIN: Stopping Charity Fundraising Phone Scams

Last week, OAG, the Federal Trade Commission, and 46 other agencies shut down an enormous phone scam operation. These scammers would call consumers posed as charity fundraising groups, ask for donations and, once they received the donation, would keep as much as 90 cents (or more!) out of every dollar they collected. These calls deceived generous Americans into donating over $100 million. The terms of a settlement, which is awaiting court approval, require that the collected funds be redistributed to legitimate charities, and that the remaining scam companies be shut down. Learn more here.

WIN: Settlement Reached with Debt Collection Agency Over Data Privacy Breach

AG Racine announced a settlement with American Medical Collection Agency (“AMCA”) resolving a multistate investigation into a 2019 data breach that exposed the personal information of up to 21 million individuals, including 12,530 District residents. Under the settlement, AMCA and its principals have agreed to implement and maintain a series of data security practices designed to strengthen its information security program and safeguard the personal information of consumers. If AMCA violates the agreement, it will be required to pay $21 million to the states. Learn more here.