ROBERTS ET AL. V. UNITED STATES JAYCEES

ROBERTS ET AL. V. UNITED STATES JAYCEES, 468 U.S. 609 (1984), a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the states may forbid sex discrimination not only in public accommodations but also in private associations whose membership is restricted. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 exempted private clubs from its coverage, but by the 1980s, California and Minnesota had extended their bans on sex discrimination to cover these groups. Minnesota's law led to a confrontation between the local and national organizations of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees), which encouraged members to participate in community activities, including running for office. Membership was open to any eligible person who paid dues, and the Jaycees had welcomed all races, religions, and nationalities since it was founded in 1920. However, only males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five could be full members.

Women began demanding Jaycee membership in the 1970s, arguing that exclusion denied them equal professional and civic opportunities. Some local chapters began admitting women, and when the national organization threatened to revoke the charters of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul chapters, the case ended up in the Supreme Court. The justices ruled unanimously that, in light of the Jaycees's traditionally inclusive membership, they "have demonstrated no serious burden on their male members' freedom of association." Roberts did not ban all sex discrimination in private associations; it held only that the Constitution did not bar the states from prohibiting sex discrimination in a group like the Jaycees. Nevertheless, one month after the decision, the national organization voted to admit women.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baer, Judith A. Women in American Law: The Struggle Toward Equality from the New Deal to the Present. New York: Holmes and Meier, 2002.

Judith A. Baer / a. r.

See also Chambers of Commerce ; Clubs, Exclusionary ; First Amendment ; Fraternal and Service Organizations ; Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte ; Women in Public Life, Business, and Professions ; Women's Rights Movement: The 20th Century .