Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Exercising The Right To Public Accommodations: The Debate Over Single-Sex Health Clubs, Miriam A. Cherry, Miriam A. Cherry

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Recently, the debate over single-sex health clubs gained national attention when a patent attorney, James Foster, sued for admission to Healthworks, a Massachusetts all-women's health club. One day in 1996, Foster entered the club, which was located close to his Boston condominium, and asked for a tour and an application for membership. The club employees, however, refused him a tour, informing him that Healthworks did not admit men. Shortly thereafter, Foster filed a discrimination claim with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination contending that Healthworks had violated the Massachusetts public accommodations statute. He won at the administrative hearing, and Healthworks …