Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Maryland

right to refuse service

i was recently fired from a position as

an instructor at a gym because 2

employees felt i showed a ''pattern of

behavior'' that might become a liability

to the company. they felt that i was too

friendly with some of the younger girls

(under 18) and they feel i am unable to

see the line between what is

appropriate and what is not.

no complaint was ever filed or brought

up by any members or users of the

facility, including any of the girls i dealt

with or their parents. there was simply

a fear that an issue might arise and the

company would be liable.

upon firing me, i was also told that i

was not to ever return to any of their

facilities. when i have tried to contact

my former supervisor to find out the

reasoning, the only reply i have received

is ''it is unfortunate that you do not see

why letting you use our facility is

inappropriate.'' can they legally refuse

me the right to use their facilities as a

paying customer, especially without

explaination? thanks.


Asked on 11/13/06, 2:58 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Daniel Press Chung & Press, P.C.

Re: right to refuse service

The gym is a private entity and can refuse service to anyone, at any time, for any reason or no reason, although they may be subject to the anti-discrimination laws (which would not be an issue here).

Read more
Answered on 11/13/06, 7:13 am
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: right to refuse service

Two answers:

First, so long as the "discrimination" is not based on race, sex, national origin etc, it will not be a problem. That is, your former employer has a right to not provide services if it doesn't want to provide them to you based on what they have determined to be inappropriate conduct. So, long as they aren't saying you are barred because of your race, religion etc., they are pretty much going to be o.k.

Second: having said all of that, it sounds to me as if you may want to talk to an attorney anyway. I think you should chat with an attorney in order to determine exactly what conduct your former employer considered to be a potential liability. I do not suggest this because I think that there will necessarily be any way for you to recover from them. Instead, I suggest that you do so for your own understanding and protection. The reason i say this is that if in fact your conduct IS such that it actually IS creating a liability for your former employer, then YOU need to KNOW about it. The reason is that if it really is creating a liability for them, it is ALSO creating a liability for YOU.

It is entirely possible that innocent behavior on your part is being misinterpretted. But, if that is that case, then it would still make sense to find out if there are some modifications that you should make to make sure that YOU are not the target of a lawsuit yourself in the future.

Read more
Answered on 11/13/06, 7:14 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Civil Rights Law questions and answers in Maryland