Yelp adds 'Open to All' feature to 'protect consumers from discrimination'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yelp is adding yet another feature to help people make more informed decisions about where to eat.
A week after announcing the brand was going to add health inspection scores, the review app is now adding a category that allows businesses to be marked as “open to all…regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The new feature will be prominently displayed under the restaurant’s “More business info” area.
Yelp said in a statement that the decision to start the “Open to All” campaign was to “build awareness and understanding of the importance of nondiscrimination laws and defend the bedrock principle that when businesses open their doors to the public, they should be Open to All.”
Yelp referred to the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Right Commission case – where the Supreme Court ruled a cake maker could refuse service to a gay couple based on his religious beliefs – as a reason for creating the category.
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“[It will] help protect consumers from discrimination,” the company said.
Restaurants are responsible for self-identifying as open to all on the website. According to the Yelp blog, businesses are able to opt-out of the feature.