I just noticed an ad in the local paper for a phone dating service.
They charge men a fee to use the service but they don’t charge women. It seems like I could sue them for sexual discrimination.
Is there any case law on this?
And what about the fitness centers who only allow woman to join? Could I sue them too?
I am half kidding about this, but I am tempted to contact a lawyer to see if I had a shot just for the fun of it!
Would I have a case?
Phone dating services and fitness centers both qualify as organizations that you have to join (such as clubs) as opposed to a store or restaurant, where one can expect to walk in and conduct business. Such organizations can choose to admit whomever they want to the club, and may place different requirements upon them, and are not subject to anti-discrimination laws.
So could I open my own fitness club and refuse to allow blacks to join?
I have a feeling I would be sued in a heart beat if I did?
I don’t know if you’d be sued. Didn’t some “white male only” clubs (Augusta National?) only integrate within the last decade or two?
If it is illegal, then it might have something to do with equal protection. I’m not a lawyer though, so I don’t know.
Those clubs did not have an explicit “no blacks rule”. In most clubs you have to be sponsored by a current member to join. I guess no one at those clubs had any black friends that they wanted to sponsor. There was an implied “no blacks” rule there.
If a club can have an explicit no males rules then it seems like one should be able to set up a “no blacks” club as well.
There are still plenty of “restricted” country clubs and such in the US that do not admit blacks, or women, or Jews, or some other group. They are slowly going away since fewer and fewer people want to be associated with racists, but they’re there.