Public accommodations

Within U.S. law, public accommodations are generally defined as facilities, both public and private, that are used by the public. Examples include retail stores, rental establishments and service establishments, as well as educational institutions, recreational facilities and service centers.

Under United States federal law, public accommodations must be handicap-accessible and must not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin.[1][2] Private clubs were specifically exempted under federal law,[3] but not religious organizations.[4][5]

Various states in the United States, in a number of non-uniform laws, provide for non-discrimination in public accommodation.

Federal law

Within the United States, federal legislation dealing with public accommodations include:

State laws

Many states and their subdivisions prohibited discrimination in places of public accommodation prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title II).[6][7] As of 2015, forty-five of the fifty US states have an anti-discrimination public accommodation law for nondisabled individuals.[8] These laws all protect against discrimination based upon race, gender, ethnicity and religion.[8] Nineteen states prohibit discrimination in public accommodation based upon age.[8]

Several states also have protections for breastfeeding in public.[9] In addition several states provide for non-discrimination in public accommodation when based upon sexual orientation and/or gender identity.[10]

While private clubs were exempted under federal law,[3] they were not in many state laws. For example, in interpreting a Minnesota law in 1984,[11] the United States Supreme Court declared the previously all-male Junior Chamber International, a chamber of Commerce organization for persons between the ages of eighteen and thirty-six, to be a public accommodation, which compelled them to admit of women.[12]

On the other hand, while religious organizations were not specifically exempted by federal public accommodation law, several state statutes on public accommodation include such exemptions.[13]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ The ADA: Questions and Answers, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Jan 17, 1997, retrieved Jul 23, 2012
  2. ↑ The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Title II - Public Accommodation, retrieved Jul 23, 2012
  3. 1 2 Sec. 201(e), Civil Rights Act of 1964
  4. ↑ Religious organizations and institutions were not mentioned in Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but they did receive an exemption under Title VII. See: Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos, 483 U.S. 327 (1987).
  5. ↑ Minow, Martha (2007). "Should Religious Groups Be Exempt From Civil Rights Laws" (PDF). Boston College Law Review 48: 781–849, page 820. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2014.
  6. ↑ For a list of states and localities that had anti-discrimination public accommodation legislation at the time, see Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241, page 259 note 8 (1964) (listing statutes) and Bell v. Maryland, 378 U.S. 226, pages 284–285 (1964) (listing states and localities).
  7. ↑ Lerman, Lisa G. and Sanderson, Annette K. (1978). "Comment, Discrimination in Access to Public Places: A Survey of State and Federal Public Accommodations Laws". New York University Review of Law and Social Change 7: 215–311. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas do not have such laws. "State Public Accommodation Laws". National Conference of State Legislatures.
  9. ↑ Breastfeeding Laws, National Conference of State Legislatures, May 2011, retrieved April 4, 2013
  10. ↑ Chapman, Kelly Catherine (2012). "Gay Rights, the Bible, and Public Accommodations: An Empirical Approach to Religious Exemptions for Holdout States" (PDF). Georgetown Law Journal 100 (5): 1783–1827. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Roberts v. United States Jaycees
  12. ↑ "Jaycees Vote to Admit Women to Membership". The New York Times. August 17, 1984. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ Minow 2007, p. 813

Further reading


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