Also known as:public accommodations · public facility
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A business or facility that offers lodging, food, entertainment, or other services to the public. The term covers establishments whose operations affect interstate commerce or receive state support, triggering obligations of equal access under antidiscrimination statutes.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Civic Club Membership Dispute
Patrick Phan applied for full voting membership in a large citywide technology networking club that hosts open coding workshops and pitch nights. The club rejected his application solely because he is male, citing its message promoting male leadership. City officials sued under the local public accommodations law. The court applied the statute because the club's size and nonselective practices meant the rule did not meaningfully impair its ability to communicate its views.
Waste Flow Control Ordinance
Paula Pierce owns a private waste-hauling firm that previously took construction debris to out-of-state processors. A state statute now requires all such debris to go to a county-owned recovery facility open to local businesses. Pierce challenged the law as an improper burden on commerce. The court upheld the requirement because the facility is publicly owned and performs a traditional government function.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Study Supplements
Dictionaries
Gun-Free School Zone Challenge
Preston Pratt, a high-school senior, brought a handgun to school property that also housed a public cafeteria open to interstate travelers. Federal prosecutors charged him under a statute banning guns near schools. The court examined whether the cafeteria qualified as a public accommodation whose operations affected commerce, thereby supporting congressional authority.
United States v. Lopez514 U.S. 549 (1995)
Gender-Motivated Violence Claim
Parker Phillips was assaulted at a motel that served interstate guests. She sued the assailant and the motel under a federal civil rights provision targeting gender-motivated violence at public accommodations. The court considered whether the motel's status as a public accommodation supplied the necessary link to congressional enforcement power.
United States v. Morrison529 U.S. 598 (2000)
Religious Land Use Dispute
Portia Price sought to convert a former restaurant into a worship space. Local officials denied the permit, citing zoning rules that treated the building as a public accommodation subject to accessibility mandates. The court analyzed whether the denial exceeded Congress's enforcement authority under the Fourteenth Amendment.
City of Boerne v. Flores521 U.S. 507 (1997)
Workplace Orientation Policy
Paul Peterson, a transgender employee, was denied service at a company cafeteria open to the public and interstate travelers. He filed a claim alleging discrimination on the basis of sex under federal law. The court treated the cafeteria as a public accommodation whose practices fell within the statute's coverage.
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia140 S. Ct. 1731, 1739 (2020)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
What establishments qualify as places of public accommodation under Title II?+
Title II covers inns, hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, gas stations, and other facilities whose operations affect interstate commerce or are supported by state action. Retail stores and recreational facilities can qualify when they serve the public and meet the commerce test.
Can a large civic organization be treated as a public accommodation?+
A large, nonselective civic group that opens events to the public may be reached by state antidiscrimination laws even if it claims expressive purposes. The state's interest in eradicating discrimination can prevail when the regulation does not significantly impair the group's ability to advocate its views.
Does a flow-control law directing waste to a public facility implicate public accommodation rules?+
Flow-control measures that steer waste to a government-owned facility receive lenient dormant commerce clause review because they favor a public provider performing a traditional function rather than private economic interests. The analysis focuses on whether the preference reflects legitimate public objectives.
When does private conduct at a public accommodation become state action?+
Private operators leasing space in publicly owned facilities or sharing profits with the state may be treated as state actors under a symbiotic-relationship test. The financial interdependence and public character of the location can attribute discriminatory acts to the state for equal-protection purposes.
514 U.S. 549 (1995)Constitutional Law
…came, however, with the challenge to congressional Commerce Clause authority to prohibit racial discrimination in places of public accommodation, when the Court simply made explicit what the earlier cases had implied: "where we find that the legislators, in light of the facts and testimony before them, have a rational basis for…