Public accommodations
In US law, public accommodations are generally defined as facilities, both public and private, 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 accessible to the handicapped and may 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 nonuniform laws, provide for nondiscrimination in public accommodation.
Federal law
Federal legislation dealing with public accommodations include these:
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, 45 states have an anti-discrimination public accommodation law for nondisabled individuals.[8] The laws all protect against discrimination based upon race, gender, ethnicity, and religion.[8] There are 19 states that 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]
Private clubs were exempted under federal law[3] but not in many states' laws. For example, in interpreting a Minnesota law in 1984,[11] the United States Supreme Court declared the previously all-male United States Junior Chamber, a chamber of commerce organization for persons between the ages of 18 and 36, to be a public accommodation, thus compelling it to admit women.[12]
On the other hand, religious organizations were not specifically exempted by federal public accommodation law, but several state statutes on public accommodation include such exemptions.[13]
See also
- Anti-discrimination law
- Discrimination
- List of cities and counties in the United States offering an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance
- Reasonable accommodation
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sec. 201(e), Civil Rights Act of 1964
- ↑ Religious organizations and institutions were not mentioned in Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but they received 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).
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas do not have such laws. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Roberts v. United States Jaycees
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Minow 2007, p. 813
Further reading
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