Disability Discrimination: Places of Public Resort, Accommodation, Assemblage, Amusement
UNFAIR PRACTICES
The relevant law is RCW 49.60.215 and it states as follows:
Unfair practices of places of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, amusement—Trained dog guides and service animals.
It shall be an unfair practice for any person or the person's agent or employee to commit an act which directly or indirectly results in any distinction, restriction, or discrimination, or the requiring of any person to pay a larger sum than the uniform rates charged other persons, or the refusing or withholding from any person the admission, patronage, custom, presence, frequenting, dwelling, staying, or lodging in any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, except for conditions and limitations established by law and applicable to all persons, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, sex, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a mother breastfeeding her child, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability: PROVIDED, That this section shall not be construed to require structural changes, modifications, or additions to make any place accessible to a person with a disability except as otherwise required by law: PROVIDED, That behavior or actions constituting a risk to property or other persons can be grounds for refusal and shall not constitute an unfair practice.
Id. (emphasis added).THE PRIMA FACIE CASE
Washington courts have held that plaintiffs must prove the following in order to make out a prima facie disability discrimination case under RCW 49.60.215 — Unfair practices of places of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, amusement:
(1) they have a disability recognized under the statute;
(2) the defendant’s business or establishment is a place of public accommodation;
(3) they were discriminated against by receiving treatment that was not comparable to the level of designated services provided to individuals without disabilities by or at the place of public accommodation; and,
(4) the disability was a substantial factor causing the discrimination.
Learn More
