Nearly 30 fitness clubs in Philadelphia are in violation of a new city ordinance prohibiting cashless stores, and the sponsor of the original bill is looking into the matter.
Councilman Bill Greenlee said he’s disappointed because the fitness clubs are clearly included in the ordinance. He said he plans to ask the Commission on Human Relations, the enforcement agency, if it will accept a blanket complaint against gyms or if the complaint will have to come from someone who is personally aggrieved.
“This is a little bit different in the sense it’s a blanket policy that these places have,” Greenlee explained. “Will somebody have to put a complaint in at every location? I don’t know, that’s what I’m going to look into.”
Usually, he said, complaints to the Commission on Human Relations came from people who were personally discriminated against or denied access.
Related: Philly City Council passes bill requiring businesses to accept cash
Members are required by the gyms to provide a bank account, debit card or credit card.
The ordinance requires all retail operators to accept cash, to be inclusive to those who may not have a bank account or credit card.
