Public Accommodations

Public accommodations are programs or services that are generally open and available to the public, including retail stores, libraries, gyms, schools, courthouses, salons, healthcare facilities, restaurants, theaters, museums, and hotels. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, including HIV, in public accommodations. Disability-based discrimination in public accommodations may occur through exclusion from entering or participating in a program or service, or through imposition of different standards and rules for participation based solely on a person's HIV status or other disability.

This HIV Policy Resource Bank category contains complaints, briefs, and settlement agreements that address discrimination in access to such services as dental care, weight loss programs, massage therapy, pharmacy assistance, emergency medical services, and surgical treatment. Also included is Title III of the ADA, as well as its implementing regulations.

Highlighted Resources

Public Accommodations

Questions and Answers: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Person with HIV/AIDS, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (June 2012)

Smith v. Milton Hershey School, Motion to Transfer Venue, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, The Milton Hershey School (Jan. 28, 2012)

United States and City of Stockton, CA, Settlement Agreement, U.S. Department of Justice (2007)

Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Justice (July 2021)

U.S. Department of Justice, Settlement Agreement Between the United States of America and Night and Day Dental, Inc. under the Americans With Disabilities Act, DJ # 202-54-195 (June 16, 2021)

July marks the 30th Anniversary of the ADA. What does that mean for PLHIV?

Applying HHS's Guidance for State and Health Care Providers on Avoiding Disability-based Discrimination in Treatment Rationing, The Arc of the U.S., et al (April 3, 2020)

CHLP Authors Letter on Ethical Principles for COVID Care Allocation in New York State (2020)

Essential Elements of New York Guidelines for Allocation of Health Care Resources During A Pandemic, The Center for HIV Law and Policy (April 14, 2020)

Preventing Discrimination in the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), 3/25/2020

Consent Decree, United States v. Compass Career Management, No. 15-CV-1347 (E.D.La. 2015)

United States v. Asare, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209392 (S.D.N.Y., December 20, 2017)

Crowell v. Mass. Parole Bd., 74 N.E.3d 618 (Mass. 2017)

RE: Policy Regarding Students with HIV, Sally Friedman, Legal Action Center (2017)

Clayton v. Michigan Department of Corrections, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170366 (W.D. Mich. Dec. 9, 2016)

Unjust: How the Justice System Fails Transgender People, Center for American Progress and Movement Advancement Project (2016)

Settlement Agreement Between the United States of America and Mercy Suburban Hospital Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (2015)

State Policies Concerning LGBTQ Youth, get R.E.A.L., Center for the Study of Social Policy (2013)