Bill > S1427

Introduced Session

This bill requires a retail establishment that has a restroom solely for the use of its employees to allow a customer with an eligible medical condition immediate access to the restroom during normal business hours if the restroom is safe, and the following conditions are met: the customer requesting the use of the restroom suffers from an eligible medical condition; three or more employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the customer requests the use of the restroom; the retail establishment does not normally make a restroom available to the public; he restroom is not located in an area where providing public access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or a security risk to the retail establishment; and a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer. This bill also stipulates that a retail establishment is not required to make any physical changes to its restroom. As used in the bill, "eligible medical condition" means Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, any other inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or any medical condition that requires the use of an ostomy device or immediate access to a restroom. "Retail establishment" is defined as a place where merchandise is displayed, held, stored, sold or offered to the public for sale, but does not include a filling station or service station, with a structure of 800 square feet or less, that has an employee restroom within that structure. The bill also clarifies that a retail establishment or any of its employees shall not be held civilly liable for any act or omission in allowing a customer with an eligible medical condition to use the restroom if the act or omission: is not willful or grossly negligent; occurs in an area of the retail establishment that is not accessible to the public; and results in an injury to or death of a customer or any individual other than an employee accompanying the customer. Finally, a proprietor or an employee of a retail establishment violating the provisions of the bill shall be guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense and fined not more than $500 for each violation.

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Samuel Thompson (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 02/13/2020)