Cover charge
The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as a "fixed amount added to the bill at a nightclub or restaurant for entertainment or service.
[12] This law was put in place to resolve the problem of "secret" cover charges, which are indicated only in tiny text on the menu.
Many sports bars have cover charge when they are showing a boxing or a UFC pay per view event, to help defray to costs of ordering the pay-per-view material.
Luxury clubs with unusual architecture and interior design and a unique atmosphere sometimes have cover charges even when there is no live entertainment or DJ.
[14] Some high-end and luxury bars and nightclubs have yearly membership fees which can be interpreted as annual cover charges.
The California Supreme Court has ruled that ladies' days at a car wash and ladies' nights at a nightclub violate California's Unruh Civil Rights Act in Koire v Metro Car Wash (1985)[19] and Angelucci v. Century Supper Club (2007).
[19] Koire held that: "Public policy in California strongly supports eradication of discrimination based on sex.
The express language of the Unruh Act provides a clear and objective standard by which to determine the legality of the practices at issue.
The defendants have advanced no convincing argument that this court should carve out a judicial exception for their sex-based price discounts.
[22] The California Supreme Court opined: A multitude of promotional discounts come to mind which are clearly permissible under the Unruh Act.
Or, a business might offer a discount to any customer who meets a condition which any patron could satisfy (e.g., presenting a coupon, or sporting a certain color shirt or a particular bumper sticker).
In addition, nothing prevents a business from offering discounts for purchasing commodities in quantity, or for making advance reservations.
[27] The court noted that: "Against this superficially humorous backdrop, we must decide whether this seemingly innocuous business practice constitutes unlawful discrimination within the meaning of a county ordinance.
any distinction with respect to any person based on race, color, sex, marital status, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, handicap, or sexual orientation in connection with admission to, service or sales in, or price, quality or use of any facility or service of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement in the county.
Therefore, businesses should engage in a cost-benefit analysis, keeping in mind that they might have to spend time and resources defending a sex discrimination charge in front of NERC or elsewhere.
In Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board v. Dobrinoff, the Commonwealth Court specifically found that where a female patron was exempt from a cover charge, a go-go bar engaged in unlawful gender discrimination.
[31] The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has stated as recently as 2009 that it will issue citations against establishments which charge patrons differing amounts based on gender.
[32] Ladies' nights have been found not to violate state anti-discrimination law, or the federal constitution, by the Washington Supreme Court, even if held at a stadium owned by a city.
[33] The Washington Supreme Court concluded that "the respondent has shown no discrimination against men as a class and no damage to himself.
[33] Finally, the majority noted that "to decide important constitutional questions upon a complaint as sterile as this would be apt to erode public respect for the Equal Rights Amendment and deter rather than promote the serious goals for which it was adopted.
"[33] The dissenting justices emphasized their broader interpretation of the applicable prohibition and the potential for such promotions to reinforce stereotypes.
[33] The dissent concluded: It may be that application of the Equal Rights Amendment to the "promotional" activity of defendant is not the sort of thing the voters had in mind when they adopted HJR 61.
Then again, an equally persuasive argument could be made that ticket price differentials based on sex were indeed one of a number of activities which they hoped to end.
[33]The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that such promotions violate the state's public accommodation law.
[34] The court noted that the text and legislative history of the statute permitted no distinction between sex, race, and other forms of discrimination.
[34] Some comedy clubs and strip bars may allow patrons to enter without paying a fee, with the implicit or explicit expectation that the customers will buy alcoholic beverages while inside.
Many nightclubs oriented towards electronic dance music have a cover charge, in some cases because many of their patrons are not drinking alcohol due to use of other drugs such as MDMA.
