The law does not discriminate on its face, and it does not by its terms favor a particular religion or the non-exercise of religion. Plaintiffs fail to plead-let alone plausibly-that the WLAD is anything but neutral. The Court agrees with the Commission and dismisses this claim …. The Commission counters that the WLAD is a neutral law of general applicability and therefore does not run afoul of the First Amendment. The Washington State Human Rights Commission concluded that the spa's policy violated Washington's ban on gender identity discrimination in public accommodations, and the court held that this didn't violate the Free Exercise Clause, Free Speech Clause, or the right of intimate association:Īs for their claim, Plaintiffs observe that they "have the liberty to not only believe as they do about males and females in a state of undress, but they also have the right to freely exercise their religious rights, i.e., to act in accordance with their faith-based convictions." Plaintiffs allege that the Commission's enforcement of the WLAD against them, "which requires them to service nude males and females in the same rooms," forces them "to choose between violating the law or their religious convictions." This, according to Plaintiffs, imposes a substantial burden on the exercise of their religious beliefs. And Jane Doe Patron, a Christian "who frequently receives treatments at Olympus Spa," likewise "believes that men and women should not be viewing each other's naked bodies unless married to each other." … The Jane Doe Employees accordingly refuse to perform massages or body scrubs on naked men. This is a biblical principle from 1 Peter 3:7, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 1 Timothy 5:2, Phillipians 4:3, Genesis 1:27, Proverbs 31:17, Phillipians 2:3 and more."). 1-2 at 4 ("Women are in a vulnerable position when they are unclothed and/or having treatment while unclothed and we seek to ensure that they feel their privacy and rights are respected. They believe in "modesty as between the sexes" and "hold the conviction that a male and female should not ordinarily be in each other's presence while in the nude unless married to each other." See also Dkt. Olympus Spa maintains a "female-only policy" under which it restricts admission to women-or, more specifically, individuals who "physically present in the nude as … female." It apparently advertised this entry policy on its website with the following language: "Biological women are welcome It is the policy of Olympus Spa not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national original, sex, age, or disability in its programs or activities, as required by applicable laws and regulations." Olympus Spa thus admits transgender women only if they have "gone through post-operative sex confirmation surgery." Plaintiffs attribute the policy to their "traditional, theologically conservative" Christian values. According to Plaintiffs, female patrons receiving a Korean body scrub "must do so unclothed," and all employees who provide those scrubs ("ddemiri") are women. It is allegedly "required for certain procedures called 'Seshin'" pursuant to Korean tradition. The facilities include "a bath area containing multiple whirl-pools, a traditional Korean body-scrub service area, standing showers, sit-down showers, a steam room, and a dry sauna." As noted, patrons are "typically fully naked" while utilizing these areas and thus "have visual access" to other nude patrons. The Olympus Spa is a Korean spa "specifically designed for women," and the services offered there "are closely tied to the Korean tradition," meaning patrons are "require … to be naked" during certain services. From Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein's opinion yesterday in Olympus Spa v.
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