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Introduced Version Senate Bill 527 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 527

(By Senator Barnes, By Request)

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[Introduced January 31, 2008; referred to the Committee on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-43-1, §16-43-2, §16-43-3 and §16-43-4, all relating to public access to private restrooms in retail establishments.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-43-1, §16-43-2, §16-43-3 and §16-43-4, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 43. RESTROOM ACCESS ACT.
§16-43-1. Definitions.
(a) As used in this section, these terms will have the following meanings:
(1) "Customer" means an individual who is lawfully on the premises of a retail establishment.
(2) "Eligible medical condition" 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.
(3) "Retail establishment" means a place of business open to the general public for the sale of good 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.
§16-43-2. Access to retail establishment toilet facilities.
(a) A retail establishment that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow 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) Three or more employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the customer requests use of the employee toilet facility;
(3) The retail establishment does not normally make a restroom available to the public;
(4) 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;
(5) A public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer.
§16-43-3. Liability.
(a) A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment is not civilly liable for any action or omission in allowing a customer that has an eligible medical condition to use an employee toilet facility that is not a public restroom if the act or omission meets all of the following:
(1) It is not willful or grossly negligent;
(2) It occurs in an area of the retail establishment that is not accessible to the public;
(3) It results in an injury or death to the customer;
or any individual other than an employee accompanying the customer.
(b) A retail establishment is not required to make any physical changes to an employee toilet facility under this article.
§16-43-4. Penalties for violations.
A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment that violates section two of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide access to private employee restrooms for persons with certain eligible medical conditions.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
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