Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 272
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 92A (2026)

Advertisement, book, notice or sign relative to discrimination; definition of place of public accommodation, resort or amusement

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 92A. No owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or another, publish, issue, circulate, distribute or display, or cause to be published, issued, circulated, distributed or displayed, in any way, any advertisement, circular, folder, book, pamphlet, written or painted or printed notice or sign, of any kind or description, intended to discriminate against or actually discriminating against persons of any religious sect, creed, class, race, color, denomination, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, nationality, or because of deafness or blindness, or any physical or mental disability, in the full enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges offered to the general public by such places of public accommodation, resort or amusement.

A place of public accommodation, resort or amusement within the meaning hereof shall be defined as and shall be deemed to include any place, whether licensed or unlicensed, which is open to and accepts or solicits the patronage of the general public and, without limiting the generality of this definition, whether or not it be (1) an inn, tavern, hotel, shelter, roadhouse, motel, trailer camp or resort for transient or permanent guests or patrons seeking housing or lodging, food, drink, entertainment, health, recreation or rest; (2) a carrier, conveyance or elevator for the transportation of persons, whether operated on land, water or in the air, and the stations, terminals and facilities appurtenant thereto; (3) a gas station, garage, retail store or establishment, including those dispensing personal services; (4) a restaurant, bar or eating place, where food, beverages, confections or their derivatives are sold for consumption on or off the premises; (5) a rest room, barber shop, beauty parlor, bathhouse, seashore facilities or swimming pool, except such rest room, bathhouse or seashore facility as may be segregated on the basis of sex; (6) a boardwalk or other public highway; (7) an auditorium, theatre, music hall, meeting place or hall, including the common halls of buildings; (8) a place of public amusement, recreation, sport, exercise or entertainment; (9) a public library, museum or planetarium; or (10) a hospital, dispensary or clinic operating for profit; provided, however, that with regard to the prohibition on sex discrimination, this section shall not apply to a place of exercise for the exclusive use of persons of the same sex which is a bona fide fitness facility established for the sole purpose of promoting and maintaining physical and mental health through physical exercise and instruction, if such facility does not receive funds from a government source, nor to any corporation or entity authorized, created or chartered by federal law for the express purpose of promoting the health, social, educational vocational, and character development of a single sex; provided, further, that with regard to the prohibition of sex discrimination, those establishments which rent rooms on a temporary or permanent basis for the exclusive use of persons of the same sex shall not be considered places of public accommodation and shall not apply to any other part of such an establishment. An owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement that lawfully segregates or separates access to such place of public accommodation, or a portion of such place of public accommodation, based on a person's sex shall grant all persons admission to, and the full enjoyment of, such place of public accommodation or portion thereof consistent with the person's gender identity.

Any person who shall violate any provision of this section, or who shall aid in or incite, cause or bring about, in whole or in part, such a violation shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 48 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1959–2025 · leading case: United States Jaycees v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 463 N.E.2d 1151 (Mass. 1984).
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United States Jaycees v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 463 N.E.2d 1151 (Mass. 1984). · cites it 69× “Jaycees) is a "place of public accommodation" within the meaning of G.L.c. 272, §§ 92A and 98. [1] In *596 a complaint brought before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), fourteen women alleged that the U.”
Irish-Am. Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Grp. v. City of Boston, 636 N.E.2d 1293 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 33× “1, 12, 16 and 19"; (3) whether a parade is a place of public accommodation, resort, or amusement under the public accommodation discrimination law, G.L.c. 272, §§ 92A, 98; (4) whether the judgment of the Superior Court constituted a "prior restraint of the [council's] Federal…”
Harris v. Capital Growth Investors XIV, 805 P.2d 873 (Cal. 1991). · cites it 2× “272; Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 272, § 92A.) As the author of the Note observes: "The potential implications of [the Massachusetts] provision are profound, but it is difficult to determine what the drafters intended by the inclusion of the classification.”
Currier v. Nat'l Bd. of Med. Examiners, 462 Mass. 1 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 4× “93, § 102; and (4) the Massachusetts public accommodation discrimination statute (public accommodation statute), G. L. c. 272, §§ 92A, 98. Currier also sought injunctive relief requiring the NBME to give her an additional sixty minutes of break time per test day and a private…”
East Chop Tennis Club v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 305 N.E.2d 507 (Mass. 1973). · cites it 5× “The club seeks a declaratory decree that it is not a public accommodation within the purview of G. L. c. 272, § 92A, which prohibits certain types of discrimination in such facilities, and a permanent injunction restraining the *445 commission from continuing proceedings against…”
Concord Rod & Gun Club, Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 524 N.E.2d 1364 (Mass. 1988). · cites it 4× “The case focuses on G. L. c. 272, §§ 92A and 98 (1986 ed.). Section 98 provides in relevant part that “[w] hoe ver makes any distinction, discrimination or restriction on account of.”
Donaldson v. Farrakhan, 436 Mass. 94 (Mass. 2002). · cites it 3× “11 (mosque) violated their civil rights under G. L. c. 272, §§ 92A and 98, when Marceline Donaldson was refused admittance to the Strand Theatre (theatre) on the night of a speech by Louis Farrakhan.”
Joyce v. Town of Dennis, MA, 720 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2013). · cites it 2× “The court also ruled for Joyce against all defendants on her state law gender discrimination claim, see Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 272, §§ 92A, 98, 12 and granted judgment for the defendants on a state law consumer protection claim, see Mass.”
South Boston Allied War Vets. Council v. City of Boston, 875 F. Supp. 891 (D. Mass. 1995). · cites it 5× “The complaint alleged that the Veterans and the defendant City officials had violated GLIB’s rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, the public accommodation provisions of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act,…”
Hennessey v. Berger, 531 N.E.2d 1268 (Mass. 1988). · cites it 5× “), and against denial of equal access to places of public accommodation, G. L. c. 272, §§ 92A, 98 (1986 ed.). The defendant moved to dismiss the complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted.”
Gutierrez v. Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth., 437 Mass. 396 (Mass. 2002). “” G. L. c. 272, § 92A. General Laws c. 272, § 98, provides for the liability of a person who “makes any distinction, discrimination or restriction on account of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, [or] sexual orientation.”
Lucas Rosa v. Park West Bank & Trust Co., 214 F.3d 213 (1st Cir. 2000). · cites it 2× “Rosa sued the Bank for violations of the ECOA and various Massachusetts antidis-crimination statutes, see Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, §§ 92A, 98; id. ch.”
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