Washington, D.C. has settled with a window company that allegedly refused to offer services to residents living east of the Anacostia River because of high crime rates, after launching an investigation into it.
Renewal by Andersen, a Minnesota-based window and door manufacturer, is claimed to have denied replacing windows at nine addresses in D.C., among which are all the neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. The company is part of the Andersen Corporation, one of the largest of its kind in the country.
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine called the company’s practice “location-based discrimination,” which is illegal according to D.C. law. His office announced the settlement on August 21, regarding it as a “civil rights win.”
Civil Rights Win: Our office has secured a settlement to stop a major window company—Renewal by Andersen—from discriminating against District residents based on ZIP code and excluding service to residents who live east of the Anacostia River: https://t.co/TAt70UJhav
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) August 21, 2019
“The Office of the Attorney General is pleased to have reached a settlement with Renewal by Andersen to end discrimination that excluded District residents east of the Anacostia River from the company’s service area,” said Racine in a press statement.
“Under District law, businesses are required to serve residents equally, regardless of where they live. My office is committed to protecting residents’ civil rights and we will take action if we find evidence of discrimination,” he added.
With the settlement, Renewal by Andersen is required to “provide service equally to all D.C. residents, train employees about complying with civil rights law and pay $50,000 to the District.”
Racine also urged D.C. residents over Twitter messages to reach out to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) at “OAGCivilRights@dc.gov” for any discrimination they experience based on where they live.
Location-based discrimination on where residents live is illegal.
If you experience discrimination of any kind, report it to OAGCivilRights@dc.gov. pic.twitter.com/CLKFJXgZB1
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) August 21, 2019