Public accommodations, in US law, 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 US federal law, public accommodations must be accessible to the handicapped and may not discriminate on the basis of "race, color, religion, or national origin." Private clubs were specifically exempted under federal law as well as religious organizations. Title II's definition of public accommodation is limited to "any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests" and so is inapplicable to churches. Section 12187 of the ADA also exempts religious organizations from public accommodation laws, but religious organizations are encouraged to comply.
Various US states have nonuniform laws that provide for nondiscrimination in public accommodations.
Video Public accommodations
Federal law
Federal legislation dealing with public accommodations include these:
- Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Maps Public accommodations
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). As of 2015, 45 states have an anti-discrimination public accommodation law for nondisabled individuals. The laws all protect against discrimination based upon race, gender, ethnicity, and religion. There are 19 states that prohibit discrimination in public accommodation based upon age.
Several states also have protections for breastfeeding in public. In addition several states provide for non-discrimination in public accommodation when based upon sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Private clubs were exempted under federal law but not in many states' laws. For example, in interpreting a Minnesota law in their 1984 ruling Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 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.
See also
- Anti-discrimination law
- Discrimination
- List of cities and counties in the United States offering an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance
- Reasonable accommodation
References
Further reading
- Cortner, Richard C. (2001). Civil Rights and Public Accommodations: The Heart of Atlanta Motel and McClung Cases. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1077-8.
- Carothers, Leslie A. (1968). The Public Accommodations Law of 1964: Arguments, Issues and Attitudes in a Legal Debate. Northampton, Massachusetts: Smith College. OCLC 160269.
- Mook, Jonathan R. (2009). ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and its impact on public accommodations and commercial facilities. Newark, New Jersey: Matthew Bender (Lexis-Nexis). OCLC 428087829.
- Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act, United States Department of Justice. The Americans with Disabilities Act Title III technical assistance manual. Washington, D.C.: United States Government.
- Gottry, James M. (2011). "Just Shoot Me: Public Accommodation Anti-Discrimination Laws Take Aim at First Amendment Freedom of Speech". Vanderbilt Law Review. 64 (3): 961-1003.
- Singer, Joseph William (2015). "We Don't Serve Your Kind Here: Public Accommodation and the Mark of Sodom" (PDF). Boston University Law Review. 95: 929-50. SSRN 2615153 .
- Sepinwall, Amy J. (2015). "Conscience and Complicity: Assessing Pleas for Religious Exemptions in 'Hobby Lobby's' Wake" (PDF). The University of Chicago Law Review. 82 (4): 1897-980. JSTOR 43655477.
- McClain, Linda C. (2011). "Religious and Political Virtues and Values in Congruence or Conflict?: On Smith, Bob Jones University, and Christian Legal Society" (PDF). Cardozo Law Review. 32 (5): 1959-2007. SSRN 1833518 .
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