H.B. 150

127th General Assembly

(As Reported by H. Commerce and Labor)

Reps. J. McGregor, Adams, Peterson, Luckie, Skindell, Collier, Yuko

BILL SUMMARY

· Encourages retail establishments to allow customers with specified medical conditions to use the retail establishment's restrooms that are not usually available to the public.

· Specifies that a restroom facility, by reason of being made available to a customer pursuant to the bill, is not considered a public facility for the purpose of laws or regulations that generally govern facilities available to the public.

· Limits the liability of a retail establishment or an employee of an establishment for an injury or death of a customer resulting from any act or omission in allowing a customer to use an employee toilet facility if the act or omission is not willful or grossly negligent.

CONTENT AND OPERATION

Use of employee restrooms by customers with specified medical conditions

The bill encourages any retail establishment[1] that has a toilet facility for its employees to permit a customer to use that facility during normal business hours if the toilet facility is reasonably safe and all of the following conditions are met:

(1)  The customer requesting the use of the employee toilet facility suffers from an eligible medical condition or utilizes an ostomy device;

(2)  The employee toilet facility is not located in an area where providing access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or an obvious security risk to the retail establishment;

(3)  A public restroom or employee restroom normally available to the public is not immediately accessible to the customer (sec. 4173.02(A)(1) to (3)).

An "eligible medical condition," under the bill, means Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, any other inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a toilet facility (sec. 4173.01(B)).

The bill states that it does not require a retail establishment to make any physical changes to an employee toilet facility. Under the bill, no restroom facility, by reason of being made available to a customer pursuant to the bill, must be considered a public facility for the purpose of laws or regulations that generally govern facilities available to the public. The bill also states that the restroom facility is governed by the laws and regulations that otherwise would govern the facility if it were not made available to a customer pursuant to the bill. (Sec. 4173.02(B) and (C).)

Retail establishments and employees immune from liability

Under the bill, neither a retail establishment nor an employee of a retail establishment is liable in any civil action for an injury or the death of a customer resulting from any act or omission in allowing a customer to use an employee toilet facility pursuant to the bill if the act or omission is not willful or grossly negligent (sec. 4173.03).

HISTORY

ACTION	DATE
Introduced	04-12-07
Reported, H. Commerce & Labor	02-06-08

h0150-rh-127.doc/kl

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[1] The bill defines "retail establishment" as a place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services. "Retail establishment" does not include a filling station or service station, with a structure of 800 square feet or less, that has an employee toilet facility located within that structure (sec. 4173.01).