NEWS RELEASE: Avakian on P Club ruling: All Oregonians deserve fair treatment under law

[Burr, Charlie]

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For Immediate Release
September 23, 2015
CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788

Avakian on P Club ruling: All Oregonians deserve fair treatment
Case represents first commissioner's complaint filed under landmark 2007 civil rights law

PORTLAND, OR-The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld a landmark civil rights decision against a North Portland bar that discriminated against transgender patrons in violation of the Oregon Equality Act of 2007.

The case represents the first Commissioner's Complaint filed under the law.

Under Oregon law, Oregonians may not be denied full and equal service based on sexual orientation. The law provides an exemption for religious organizations and schools, but does not allow private business owners to discriminate based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot legally deny service based on race, sex, age, disability or religion.

In 2013, investigators with the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) found substantial evidence of unlawful discrimination, including phone messages from bar owner Chris Penner asking a group of transgender patrons to stop visiting the establishment because he didn't want the P Club known as a "tranny bar" or "gay bar".

In response to the Court of Appeals ruling, Commissioner Avakian issued the following statement:

"Oregonians deserve to be treated fairly under law. Our agency is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Oregonians so that people are not denied employment, housing or access to public places based on who they are or who they love."

The Court of Appeals rejected all arguments made by the Respondents, including the Respondents' contention that the discriminatory voicemails represented protected speech.

The P Club Final Order cites the standard of what constitutes a denial of service from an earlier BOLI discrimination case in which a black woman was found to have been denied full and equal access to a place of public accommodation (In the Matter of The Pub, 6 BOLI 270 (1987)).

For more information about BOLI's efforts to protect workplaces and the civil rights of all Oregonians, visit http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI.

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Charlie Burr
Communications Director
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 1045
Portland, Oregon  97232
Tel:  971-673-0788
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