March 12, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Equal Rights Center (ERC) today announced a cooperation agreement with JAG Management Company (JAG) to ensure a fair tenant screening process at JAG properties for all applicants, including renters with housing vouchers, past evictions, and criminal records. The agreement resolves ERC’s allegations that the company illegally discriminated against prospective tenants at four D.C. properties: J. Coopers Row, Jefferson MarketPlace, J Linea, and Pinnacle.
ERC Executive Director Kate Scott comments, “We’re excited to reach this agreement with JAG to ensure their tenant screening policies and practices align with the law, so everyone has a fair shot at living in their neighborhood of choice.”
The four-year agreement applies to all multifamily rental properties in D.C. currently owned, leased, or managed by JAG. As part of the agreement, JAG agrees not to apply minimum income and credit score requirements to applicants with a housing voucher or other income-based housing subsidy, and not to consider eviction filings three or more years old or criminal records more than seven years old, in accordance with D.C. law. JAG additionally agrees to:
- Revise their tenant screening policy, screening criteria, and application form within 60 days;
- Meet affirmative marketing requirements, including access to the revised tenant screening policy on the subject properties’ websites;
- Have leasing agents and property management staff at all subject properties attend annual fair housing training provided by the ERC;
- Establish a “Voucher liaison” for the subject properties to help prospective renters with vouchers navigate the tenancy screening process;
- Participate in compliance testing conducted by ERC; and,
- Pay $220,000, including the cost of training and compliance testing, and attorneys’ fees.
Scott continues, “Tenant screening policies matter because they determine who can access which buildings, in which neighborhoods, and ultimately shape the kind of city we live in.” Due to disparities in the criminal justice system, people of color and people with disabilities are more likely to have a record, and so are disproportionately harmed by overly broad criminal record screenings. Similarly, discrimination against renters with housing vouchers disproportionately harms women, Black people, and people with disabilities in the District.
ERC began investigating JAG in 2024 after reviewing the rental application form for J. Coopers Row Apartments. ERC then conducted civil rights testing at JAG’s four D.C. properties. ERC’s lawsuit alleged that JAG imposed numerous unlawful requirements on prospective renters, including minimum income requirements for voucher holders and overly broad eviction record and criminal background screenings, in violation of the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, D.C. Human Rights Act, D.C. Fair Criminal Record Screenings for Housing Act of 2016, D.C. Rental Housing Act, and D.C. Security Deposit Act.
Brian Corman of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, and Ryan Downer, Mirela Missova, and Rebecca Guterman of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs represented the ERC in this matter.
“D.C.’s renter protections are some of the strongest in the nation, designed to counteract inequality and promote opportunity. This agreement ensures applicants at JAG properties will be treated fairly, as the law demands, without facing unnecessary and illegal barriers,” said Brian Corman, a Partner at Cohen Milstein.
Mirela Missova, Supervising Attorney at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee, comments, “Source of income discrimination and overly broad criminal record screenings are major contributors to racial segregation in D.C. We’re proud to support the ERC in their efforts to stamp out these harmful practices and foster inclusive communities.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nick Adjami, Communications and Engagement Manager
Equal Rights Center
nadjami@equalrightscenter.org, (202) 370-3219
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ABOUT THE EQUAL RIGHTS CENTER: The ERC is a civil rights organization that identifies and seeks to eliminate unlawful and unfair discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations in its home community of Greater Washington D.C. and nationwide. The ERC’s core strategy for identifying unlawful and unfair discrimination is civil rights testing. When the ERC identifies discrimination, it seeks to eliminate it through the use of testing data to educate the public and business community, support policy advocacy, conduct compliance testing and training, and, if necessary, take enforcement action. For more information, please visit equalrightscenter.org.
ABOUT COHEN MILSTEIN SELLERS & TOLL: Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, with over 100 attorneys across eight offices, champions the causes of real people—workers, consumers, small business owners, investors, and whistleblowers—working to deliver corporate reforms and fair markets for the common good. We have litigated landmark civil rights and employment disputes before the highest courts in the nation and continue to actively shape civil rights and employment law in the United States.
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND URBAN AFFAIRS: The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs partners with community members and organizations on scores of cases to combat discrimination in housing, employment, education, immigration, criminal justice reform, and public accommodations based on race, gender, disability, family size, history of criminal conviction, and more. For over 50 years, the Committee has delivered a steady stream of civil rights victories to advance justice in the District and beyond. For more information, please visit washlaw.org.