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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minneapolis Advances Ordinance Requiring Businesses to Publicly Post Dress Codes
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 19, 2026) A proposed Minneapolis ordinance requiring businesses to display customer dress codes near their entrances has advanced from a City Council committee and is scheduled for consideration by the full council August 27.
The proposal is intended to address complaints that unpublished or inconsistently enforced dress codes can become a vehicle for racial discrimination at bars, restaurants and entertainment establishments.
Businesses that maintain specific clothing requirements would have to make those rules visible before customers attempt to enter. The measure would allow residents to know the rules in advance and provide a clearer standard for determining whether similarly dressed customers are treated differently.
The ordinance would not prevent businesses from establishing lawful dress standards. It would require transparency regarding those standards and consistent communication to the public.
Common health and safety requirements, including rules against entering a business without shoes or a shirt, would not be treated in the same way as individualized dress codes under the proposal.
During committee discussion, Council Member Jason Chavez recalled a high-profile Minneapolis case in which a white customer wearing a Minnesota Twins shirt was admitted to an establishment while a Black customer wearing similar clothing was denied entry. Chavez also described being refused admission to a business while wearing a rainbow-colored pouch.
Critics of selective dress-code enforcement have long argued that restrictions targeting particular athletic clothing, jewelry, hats, hairstyles or footwear can be written or applied in ways that disproportionately exclude Black customers and other groups.
A publicly posted policy would not, by itself, establish that a business is enforcing its rules fairly. It would, however, create a written standard that customers and city regulators could compare with the business’s actual practices.
The ordinance was introduced in July and passed out of committee Tuesday afternoon. It has not yet received final City Council approval and is not currently in effect.
The full Minneapolis City Council is expected to discuss the proposal August 27. Any amendments or final enforcement provisions will depend on the council’s action.
Residents may follow the ordinance and upcoming meeting through the Minneapolis City Council’s public-meeting records.
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