Business owners with criminal records are being arbitrarily denied federal Paycheck Program Protection loans by the Small Business Administration.

The SBA’s rules are disproportionately impacting people of color, who are more likely to have a criminal record due to the systemic overcriminalization of Black and Brown communities.

“Returning citizen business owners deserve the right to apply for SBA’s forgivable loans. We should celebrate the accomplishments of returning citizens who are contributing to their communities, not shut them out from aid at a time of acute financial crisis. The SBA’s exclusion compounds the already devastating impacts that communities of color are facing from the COVID-19 pandemic Congress did not provide any exclusions when it passed the CARES Act, and the SBA has provided no good reason for them.” – Joanna Wasik, Counsel

Today, we filed suit against the SBA on behalf of two Black business owners, Sekwan Merritt and John Garland, and Defy Ventures, a nonprofit organization that works with returning citizens. Together with the ACLU, Public Interest Law Center, Jenner & Block, and Weil, Gotshal & Mangesto we filed to stop the SBA’s discriminatory exclusion of business owners who are returning citizens.