NCLEJ is fighting to promote economic justice for low-income communities by putting an end to the exploitative practice of unlawful debt collection.
The burden of debt collection disproportionately falls on the most historically-marginalized communities in America. Due to the absence of generational wealth, Black and Brown families often find themselves grappling with substantial debt, primarily stemming from medical bills and court fines.
Debt collectors and state agencies can empty people’s bank accounts, leaving families without money to support their daily needs. Black and Brown people are also disproportionately stopped, ticketed, arrested, and convicted for traffic violations, causing them to be more likely to get their licenses suspended, and robbing them of their primary means of transportation.
These predatory practices balloon into vicious debt cycles, unemployment, and poverty for low-income people. This is not a bug, but a feature of an unjust and unfair system.
NCLEJ is working to put an end to predatory debt collection practices against low-income communities. Here are some of our recent achievements:
As part of the Driven by Justice coalition, NCLEJ got then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to reform Driver’s License suspension regulations so that people don’t lose their license because of unpaid debt.
In 2017, NCLEJ obtained an important consumer rights decision from the Second Circuit in Arias v. Gutman Mintz: restraining exempt benefits is an unfair practice that violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In 2022, because of an NCLEJ lawsuit, the Kentucky Department of Revenue stopped collecting medical debt, saving low-income Kentuckians millions in wage garnishments and property liens.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice advances racial and economic justice through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. We have provided legal representation and support since 1965.
