Ladies' nights that promote discounts on alcoholic beverages may lead to increased binge drinking, which can be a safety and health hazard.
[12] 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.
"[14] In 2008, the Nevada Equal Rights Commission ruled in favor of a man who claimed a local gym offering free memberships to women was discriminatory.
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.
[19] 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.
[20] 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.
[21] 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.
[22] Although ladies' nights are prohibited by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the United Kingdom as unlawful discrimination, some clubs reportedly flout the ban.