Bill Text: NY A06978 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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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 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-06-07 - substituted by s5444 [A06978 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06978-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6978

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. WALLACE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection

        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
    21  requesting  individual or create a security risk to the people, or prop-
    22  erty within the place of business;
    23    d. use of the toilet facility would not create an  obvious  health  or
    24  safety risk to the requesting individual; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07109-01-3
        A. 6978                             2

     1    e.  a  public restroom is not immediately accessible to the requesting
     2  individual.
     3    2.  A  violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable
     4  by a  civil  penalty  not  to  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  for  each
     5  violation.
     6    3.  Businesses shall not be  liable for any injuries which result from
     7  toilet facility use by utility workers.
     8    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.