DC Public Accommodations Discrimination Lawyer

Public accommodations are places open to the public — restaurants, stores, hotels, gyms, theaters, doctors’ offices, and similar businesses. Federal and DC law both prohibit these businesses from discriminating against customers based on certain protected characteristics, though DC’s law goes considerably further than federal law does.

Federally, Title II of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on race, color, religion, or national origin, and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disability, including a business’s failure to provide required accessibility or reasonable modifications. The DC Human Rights Act is one of the broadest public accommodations laws in the country. It also covers sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, personal appearance, source of income, political affiliation, and several other categories that federal law doesn’t reach at all.

Discrimination in public accommodations can include:

• Refusing service or entry
• Offering different prices, terms, or service quality
• Discriminatory dress codes, ID policies, or other selectively enforced rules
• Racial or other discriminatory profiling
• Failing to provide a reasonable modification or accommodation for a disability
• Physical barriers to access that a business could reasonably remove
• Harassment by staff or management based on a protected characteristic

Roshni Shikari represents individuals in public accommodations discrimination claims.

What to Know Before You File a Claim

• Document the incident as it happens, if you can. Names of staff involved, witnesses, receipts, and any signage or policies cited can all matter later.
• Identify which law covers your situation. Whether you have a federal claim, a DC claim, or both depends on the characteristic at issue and the relief you’re seeking.
• Understand your filing options. DC Human Rights Act claims can be filed with the DC Office of Human Rights or filed directly in court. Federal claims have their own separate requirements.
• Consult an attorney before assuming you have no recourse. Because DC’s public accommodations protections are unusually broad, situations that wouldn’t be actionable in many states may still give rise to a claim here.

Why Work With a DC Public Accommodations Attorney

Public accommodations cases often come down to details that are easy to lose track of after the fact, like who was working that day, what exactly was said, and whether a policy was applied to other customers the same way. Roshni Shikari moves to pin down those details early and evaluates every available avenue under federal and DC law to identify the strongest possible claim and remedy for each client.

Contact The Shikari Law Firm for a Free Consultation

If you were denied service, entry, or fair treatment at a business because of who you are, contact The Shikari Law Firm for a free consultation.