Places of public accommodation include places or businesses offering or holding out to the general public goods, services, privileges, facilities, advantages, or accommodations for the peace, comfort, health, welfare, and safety of the general public or such public places providing food, shelter, recreation, and amusement.
The Act makes it illegal for a place of public accommodation to discriminate because of an individual’s race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, or disability, including:
- Refusing to provide service
- Being inaccessible to a person with a disability
- Setting different terms or conditions for services or facilities
- Failing to reasonably accommodate an individual's disability to allow him/her to use and enjoy the place of accommodation
- Failing to provide, or providing inadequate, disabled parking spaces
- Failing to provide an accessible public restroom
- Failing to provide an accessible entrance.
Visit the United States Access Board website to see the accessibility requirements for places of public accommodations.
The Act also makes it unlawful for places of public accommodations to retaliate against an individual for filing a complaint of discrimination, testifying or assisting in an investigation, or proceeding under the Act. Additionally, the Act protects individuals against public accommodation discrimination on the basis of their association with a person in a protected category.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against in a place of public accommodation, you can file a complaint of discrimination.
IMPORTANT: All persons covered by the Fair Housing section of the Act are required to post notices to all their tenants, customers, etc., advising them of their rights under the Act and their right to be free from retaliation. Such notices must be accessible, as needed, to persons with visual or other disabilities that affect reading. These posters are available for printing.