Ladies’ Night Legality by U.S. State/Territory

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A ladies’ night is a promotional event, often at a bar or nightclub, where female patrons pay less than male patrons for the cover charge or drinks. In the United States, state courts in California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have ruled that ladies’ night discounts are unlawful Gender-Based Price Discrimination under state or local statutes. However, courts in Illinois, Minnesota, and Washington have rejected a variety of challenges to such discounts.

Claims against ladies’ nights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution have failed under the state action doctrine. Similar actions have failed under the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1983). Ladies’ nights may have federal tax implications, though. Federal claims were also involved in the unsuccessful challenge in Washington (see below).


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