Korean female-only spa takes fight to Supreme Court 

A local Korean spa is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it keep its communal nude areas female-only.

Olympus Spa, with locations in Lynnwood and Tacoma, filed a petition earlier this month asking the court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling involving its admission policy.

The legal fight began after a person who identifies as a woman complained to the Washington State Human Rights Commission about being denied access to the spa. According to court filings, the complainant said the spa had refused service because the individual had not undergone sex-reassignment surgery.

The commission determined that Olympus Spa’s “biological women” policy violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

Olympus Spa says its policy is necessary because customers are nude in communal areas and receive traditional Korean full-body scrubs from employees. The spa also says girls as young as 13 use its facilities.

The owners, who are Christian, say keeping the spa female-only reflects both their religious beliefs and Korean cultural traditions.

Washington argues that businesses open to the public cannot exclude customers based on gender identity when state law prohibits such discrimination.

The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to take the case. Olympus Spa is asking the justices to review the Ninth Circuit ruling or reverse it outright.