Bill Text: NY A05681 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Permits employees of public utility corporations or public utility companies access to certain restroom facilities without being a paying customer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-26 - print number 5681a [A05681 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A05681-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5681--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 23, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Consumer Affairs and Protection -- recommitted to the Committee on
          Consumer Affairs and Protection in accordance with  Assembly  Rule  3,
          sec.  2  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the general business  law,  in  relation  to  permitting
          employees  of  public  utilities access to certain restroom facilities
          without being a paying customer

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  399-k to read as follows:
     3    §  399-k.  Access to restroom facilities.  1. A place of business open
     4  to the general public for the sale of  goods  or  services  that  has  a
     5  toilet  facility  for  its  employees  shall allow any individual who is
     6  lawfully on the premises of such place of business  while  performing  a
     7  utility  related service to use that toilet facility during normal busi-
     8  ness hours, even if the place of business does  not  normally  make  the
     9  employee  toilet  facility available to the public, provided that all of
    10  the following conditions are met:
    11    a. the individual requesting the use of the employee  toilet  facility
    12  is  an  employee  of a public utility company or a public utility corpo-
    13  ration as defined in section two of the  public  service  law,  provided
    14  that the place of business may require the individual to present reason-
    15  able  evidence that the individual is an employee of such public utility
    16  entity;
    17    b. two or more employees of the place of business are working  at  the
    18  time the individual requests use of the employee toilet facility;
    19    c.  the  employee  toilet  facility  is  not  located in an area where
    20  providing access would create an obvious health or safety  risk  to  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09458-03-2

        A. 5681--A                          2

     1  requesting  individual or create a security risk to the people, or prop-
     2  erty within the place of business;
     3    d.  use  of  the toilet facility would not create an obvious health or
     4  safety risk to the requesting individual; and
     5    e. a public restroom is not immediately accessible to  the  requesting
     6  individual.
     7    2.  A  violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable
     8  by a  civil  penalty  not  to  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  for  each
     9  violation.
    10    3.  Businesses shall not be  liable for any injuries which result from
    11  toilet facility use by utility workers.
    12    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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