Some states, like NY and California, have antidiscrimination laws that
apply to business clubs. See p. 75 of Bagley, Managers and the Legal
Environment 3d ed (1999) (I'm not trying to be obnoxious but just returned
from Russia with my adopted son Christoph Alexei, 7 months, so pressed for
time).

Connie Bagley
Stanford Business School




At 03:36 PM 11/25/98 EST, you wrote:
>Somebody's gonna answer this who has a larger grain than I, but
>for political reasons I'll take a crack, just out of true grit(s). I
>believe the question of discrimination under Title VII of the US
>1964 Civil Rights Act, as it relates to private clubs, has to do with
>the extent to which the extent to which the organization functions in
>reality as a public accommodation. So, Rotary is a public
>accommodation, as are "private" bottle clubs and other organizations
>which, though not generally open to the public, in reality serve
>primarily public functions. There is significant case law in this
>area. Let's hear from someone who knows it.
>
>I have no idea how women-only fitness centers operate. Also, I
>think Altrusa is a women-only civic club, pretty much like Lions,
>Rotary, etc.  Always perplexed me.
>
>Ginny
>
>