Can My Business In Manhattan Lawfully Refuse Service To An Individual?

In general, a business in Manhattan, NYC may lawfully refuse to provide service to a particular individual for any reason or no reason, as long as the business does not refuse service because the individual belongs to a member of a class protected by statute. Classes protected under the New York State Human Rights Law include any person’s race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, or marital status. Classes shielded from discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law include any person’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, or alienage or citizenship status.

The New York State Human Rights Law provides: “It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, or disability or marital status of any person, directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, including the extension of credit . . . .” N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(2)(a).

Most business owners in Manhattan are bound by both the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law. In Manhattan, there are more characteristics, based on which service of a person may not be refused, than is the case in the remainder of New York State.

The New York City Human Rights Law states: “It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation, because of the actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status of any person, directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof . . . .” N.Y. City Admin. Code § 8-107(4)(a).

It should further be noted that the New York Alcohol Beverage Control Law and the New York Dram Shop Act prohibit businesses and persons from serving or selling alcoholic beverages to visibly intoxicated persons or persons actually or apparently under 21 years of age. Section 65 of the New York Alcohol Beverage Control Law, captioned “Prohibited sales,” provides:

No person shall sell, deliver or give away or cause or permit or procure to be sold, delivered or given away any alcoholic beverages to
1. Any person, actually or apparently, under the age of twenty-one years;
2. Any visibly intoxicated person;
3. Any habitual drunkard known to be such to the person authorized to dispense any alcoholic beverages.

N.Y. Alco. Bev. Cont. Law § 65(1) – 65(3); see also N.Y. Dram Shop Act, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 11-101(1) (imposing strict liability on liquor licensees for injuries caused by the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages).

If your company wants to bring, or needs a lawyer to defend it in, business litigation and you are located in the Manhattan, NYC area, call Attorney David S. Rich at (347) 835-5688.