Nightclubs Under Fire Over Appearance Policies
The doorman who decides whether you look cool enough to get into a hot nightclub may be about to get his own comeuppance under California civil rights law.
The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department and a private lawyer, in separate actions, have accused two fashionable Los Angeles night spots of arbitrary discrimination based on appearance. The Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits arbitrary discrimination by businesses.
“It’s a subjective policy,” said Carl Falletta, the ABC’s deputy division chief in Los Angeles.
The ABC is seeking a 30-day liquor license suspension of the Vertigo club downtown, where undercover officers allegedly were excluded because of their appearance. Lawyer Kenneth Lipton, excluded from the nearby Mayan, has sued that club in small claims court for $250 in damages.
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