The Justice Department has settled a discrimination lawsuit involving a Midtown sports bar that denied admission to Blacks, Latinos and Asian patrons.
A lawsuit filed back in September of 2016, alleged that "360 Midtown," which previously operated as Gaslamp, engaged in a practice of selectively imposing cover charges or enforcing a dress code against people based on their race.
In 2015, three African American customers accused the bar of charging minorities a cover fee but charged no such fee to Whites.
The bar owner had denied the claims.
"This settlement resolves serious allegations of racial discrimination," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. "The announcement today should make clear that any such illegal bias in these types of establishments will not be tolerated in this district and reflects my office's continued commitment to vigorously enforcing our nation's civil rights laws."
"No individuals should be denied admission to any place of public accommodation because of the color of their skin," said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department will continue to protect the rights of all persons to be free from discrimination on the basis of their race or national origin at bars, restaurants and other places of public accommodation"
According to the Houston Chronicle Timothy Sutherland, the attorney representing the bar, declined to comment on the settlement. Sutherland previously told the Chronicle that the three African-American were charged a cover to maintain a favorable female-to-male ratio in the venue.
"The issue is, anytime you’re a group of three guys, you’re going to pay a cover," Sutherland told the Chronicle in 2015.
As part of the settlement, the owners now have to adopt a fair admissions criteria and implement a system to receive and investigate discrimination complaints, complying with federal law.
