Restroom access: medical conditions.

Existing law sets forth various requirements for providing restroom access in the workplace, place of public accommodation, or elsewhere, under specified circumstances, including, among others, provisions relating to employees, disabled travelers, baby diaper changing stations, and all-gender toilet facilities. This bill would, if certain conditions are met, require a place of business that is open to the general public for the sale of goods and that has a toilet facility for its employees to allow any individual who is lawfully on the premises of that place of business to use that toilet facility during normal business hours, even if the place of business does not normally make the employee toilet facility available to the general public. A willful or grossly negligent violation of this requirement would be subject to a civil penalty, not exceeding $100 per violation, without creating or implying a private right of action, and without applying to an employee. Under the bill, an employee would not be subject to discharge or any other disciplinary action by their employer for a violation of this requirement, unless the employee's action is contrary to an expressed policy developed by their employer pursuant to these provisions. Under the bill, conditions for the above requirement would include, among others, that the individual has an eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device, that a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the individual, and that providing access would not create an obvious health or safety risk to the individual or obvious security risk to the place of business. The bill would define "eligible medical condition" as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, other inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or another medical condition that requires immediate access to a toilet facility. The bill would permit the place of business to require the individual to present reasonable evidence of an eligible medical condition or use of an ostomy device. The bill would authorize the individual to satisfy that evidence requirement through a signed statement by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, on a specified form to be developed by the State Department of Public Health and posted on its internet website. The bill would require the department to implement these provisions in consultation with the Department of Consumer Affairs, and only to the extent not in conflict with nor construed to limit rights under civil rights law, as specified.