Several civil rights groups are filing a lawsuit to stop the Small Business Administration from denying Paycheck Protection loans to people with criminal histories. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Public Interest Law Center and Washington Lawyers Committee filed the suit on June 16.

The groups argue the “arbitrary” and “unlawful” rules shut out many small business owners with criminal records, and disproportionately impact people of color.

“This really comes at a very trying time and a time when these same communities have been the most affected by COVID. So we are fighting to ensure that all businesses are able to access the support that’s been provided by the federal government ” said ReNika Moore, Director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “We don’t understand the exclusions that the SBA has imposed.”

The groups filed the suit on behalf of Defy Ventures, a nonprofit that helps formerly incarcerated people start their own businesses and two Black business owners, Sekwan Merritt and John Garland. […]