§ 4502. Public accommodations
(a) An owner or operator of a place of public accommodation or an agent or employee of
such owner or operator shall not, because of the race, creed, color, national origin,
citizenship, immigration status, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender
identity of any person, refuse, withhold from, or deny to that person any of the accommodations,
advantages, facilities, and privileges of the place of public accommodation.
(b) An owner or operator of a place of public accommodation or his or her employee or
agent shall not prohibit from entering a place of public accommodation:
(1) an individual with a disability accompanied by a service animal; or
(2) an individual who is training an animal to perform as a service animal for an individual
with a disability.
(c) No individual with a disability shall be excluded from participation in or be denied
the benefit of the services, facilities, goods, privileges, advantages, benefits,
or accommodations or be subjected to discrimination by any place of public accommodation
on the basis of his or her disability as follows:
(1) A public accommodation shall provide an individual with a disability the opportunity
to participate in its services, facilities, privileges, advantages, benefits, and
accommodations. It is discriminatory to offer an individual an unequal opportunity
or separate benefit; however it is permissible to provide a separate benefit if that
benefit is necessary to provide an individual or class of individuals an opportunity
that is as effective as that provided to others.
(2) A public accommodation shall afford goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages,
and accommodations to an individual with a disability in the most integrated setting
that is appropriate for the needs of the individual. Notwithstanding the existence
of separate or different programs or activities, a public accommodation shall not
deny an individual with a disability an opportunity to participate in such programs
or activities that are not separate or different. Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to require an individual with a disability to accept an accommodation,
aid, service, opportunity, or benefit that the individual chooses not to accept.
(3) A public accommodation shall not exclude or otherwise deny equal goods, services,
facilities, privileges, advantages, accommodations, or other opportunities to an individual
or entity because of the known disability of an individual with whom the individual
or entity is known to have a relationship or association.
(4) [Repealed.]
(5) A public accommodation shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices,
or procedures when those modifications are necessary to offer goods, services, facilities,
privileges, advantages, or accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless
the public accommodation can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally
alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations.
(6) A public accommodation shall take whatever steps may be necessary to ensure that no
individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise
treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids
and services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps
would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges,
advantages, or accommodations being offered or would result in an undue burden on
the public accommodation.
(7) A public accommodation shall not be required to provide to individuals with disabilities
personal devices, such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, hearing aids, or readers for personal
use or study, or personal services to assist with feeding, toileting, or dressing.
(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, if a place of public accommodation
has an architectural or communication barrier, in order to comply with this section,
the public accommodation shall remove the barrier, if removal is readily achievable,
or shall make its goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations
available through alternative methods, if those alternative methods are readily achievable.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter architectural barrier removal
requirements under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and its regulations
as they relate to governmental entities.
(9) Any public accommodation that offers examinations or courses related to applications,
licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or post-secondary education,
professional, or trade purposes shall offer such examinations or courses in a place
and manner accessible to persons with disabilities or offer alternative accessible
arrangements for such individuals.
(d) This section shall not prohibit an owner or operator of an inn, hotel, motel, or other
establishment that provides lodging to transient guests, and that has five or fewer
rooms for rent or hire, from restricting such accommodation on the basis of sex or
marital status.
(e) It is a violation of this section for a gas station or other facility that sells gasoline
or other motor vehicle fuel for sale to the public to fail to comply with the provisions
of section 4110a of this title.
(f) It is a violation of this section for a public accommodation to fail to comply with
the provisions or rules pertaining to public buildings pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 174.
(g) This chapter shall not apply to:
(1) special education claims and issues covered by federal and State special education
laws, regulations, and procedures, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1404 et seq. and 16 V.S.A. chapter 101; or
(2) an insurer underwriting risks, classifying risks, or administering risks that are
based on or are not inconsistent with 8 V.S.A. §§ 4724 and 4014 or other applicable State laws.
(h) This section shall not be construed to require a public accommodation to permit an
individual to participate in or benefit from the services, facilities, goods, privileges,
advantages, and accommodations of that public accommodation when that individual poses
a direct threat to the health or safety of others. For the purposes of this subsection,
“direct threat” means a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot
be eliminated by a modification of policies, practices, or procedures or by the provision
of auxiliary aids or services. In determining whether an individual poses a direct
threat to the health or safety of others, a public accommodation shall make an individualized
assessment based on reasonable judgment that relies on current medical knowledge or
on the best available objective evidence to ascertain:
(1) the nature, duration, and severity of the risk;
(2) the probability that the potential injury will actually occur; and
(3) whether reasonable modifications of policies, practices, or procedures will mitigate
the risk.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a public accommodation from
excluding a person engaged in disruptive behavior that the place of public accommodation
has reason to believe is the result of alcohol or illegal drug use.
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any
place of public accommodation in which the mother and child would otherwise have a
legal right to be.
(k) A police officer, a firefighter, or a member of a rescue squad, search and rescue
squad, first response team, or ambulance corps who is accompanied by a service dog
shall be permitted in any place of public accommodation, and the service dog shall
be permitted to stay with its master. For the purposes of this subsection, “service
dog” means a dog owned, used, or in training by any police or fire department; rescue
or first response squad; ambulance corps; or search and rescue organization for the
purposes of locating criminals and lost persons or detecting illegal substances, explosives,
cadavers, accelerants, or school or correctional facility contraband.
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a religious organization, association,
or society, or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or
controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society,
shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities,
goods, or privileges to an individual if the request for such services, accommodations,
advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges is related to the solemnization of a
marriage or celebration of a marriage. Any refusal to provide services, accommodations,
advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges in accordance with this subsection shall
not create any civil claim or cause of action. This subsection shall not be construed
to limit a religious organization, association, or society, or any nonprofit institution
or organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious
organization, from selectively providing services, accommodations, advantages, facilities,
goods, or privileges to some individuals with respect to the solemnization or celebration
of a marriage but not to others. (Added 1987, No. 74, § 1; amended 1991, No. 48, § 3; 1991, No. 135 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 1991, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 3, 4; 2001, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 28, 2002; 2003, No. 17, §§ 1, 2; 2007, No. 41, § 14; 2009, No. 3, § 11, eff. Sept. 1, 2009; 2013, No. 31, § 10; 2015, No. 23, § 144; 2025, No. 69, § 12, eff. July 1, 2025.)